AeroSafety World, February 2007

Transcription

AeroSafety
wo r l d
2006 Accident numbers drop
Fatalities still elevated
cockpit discipline
The importance of procedures
audits
ICAO; ISO 9001 vs. IOSA; corporate
gulfstream cfit
Frequency confusion
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FEBRuary 2007
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President’sMessage
Unnatural
Acts
I
’ve spoken recently about the importance of
connections that must be formed among the
regulator, the boardroom and the operation.
These connections are being implemented as
we put safety management systems in place around
the world. That is a huge step forward, but more
needs to be done. We need to build connections
that let us solve safety problems across our professions, and that doesn’t come naturally.
As a community, we have done a very good
job of dealing with problems that focused on
individual safety disciplines. In the last 20 years
we have overhauled the entire concept of maintenance and airworthiness to deliver a fleet that is
extraordinarily safe and reliable. We have applied
human factors expertise to every inch of the cockpit to prevent and contain inevitable human errors.
We have reduced the risk of controlled flight into
terrain accidents through improved technology,
training and procedures.
What remains are the problems that cross disciplines and communities. Here’s one example of
this sort of problem: runway safety. When I travel
around the world, everybody I talk to is worried
about runway incursions, runway excursions and
runway confusion. This problem requires air
traffic control, airports and airline operations to
work together. Another example of a problem that
crosses disciplines is midair collisions. Read the
press reports about the Brazil crash if you want to
see how difficult it can be to solve problems across
air traffic control and flight operations.
Let’s be honest. Working across professions
in our business is not easy. At 18, I went to mechanic school with a brand-new commercial pilot
certificate. I learned quickly about the divide that
separates those two professions. At 25, I went to
www.flightsafety.org | AeroSafetyWorld | February 2007
air traffic control school with airline transport
pilot and mechanic licenses and learned my
prior experience was definitely not appreciated, but could be overlooked if I never mentioned it again! In my 30s, I started working
with airport engineers and found out that after
basically living at airports for more than 20 years,
I had almost nothing in common with the people
who ran them.
That is the challenge for us now. Accidents don’t
respect the cultural walls we have erected, so we are
going to have to do some things that don’t come
naturally. We will have to build connections that
bind together the safety systems that drive our disparate professions. At every level, we have to build
mechanisms that allow for the exchange of data and
the development of solutions that cross disciplines.
This isn’t a new idea; good safety managers have
been doing this for years. But it can’t be haphazard.
It needs to be part of our new culture.
This will be a long-term leadership challenge. At
FSF, we will be looking for ways to rise to that challenge. In the next few months, we will be kicking off
a runway safety initiative that brings air traffic control, airports and flight operations together to solve
problems. At every opportunity we will be looking
for a chance to solve the cross-cutting problems,
build those connections and create a culture where
such unnatural acts become commonplace.
William R. Voss
President and CEO
|
contents
AeroSafetyWorld
February2007 Vol 2 Issue 2
features
11
16
22
|
11
AviationMedicine | Too Old to Fly?
16
2006Review | A Mixed Year
22
CoverStory | Landing: Knowing the Distance
28
CausalFactors | An Approach Outside the Window
35
HumanFactors | Discipline as Antidote
39
StrategicIssues | A Quest for Transparency
42
InSight | Airline Safety Standard Exceeds ISO 9001
46
FlightOps | GPS Approaches: Heavy Lifting?
50
AuditReview | Last Round
departments
1
President’sMessage | Unnatural Acts
5
EditorialPage | Unintentional Drift
6
AirMail | Letters From Our Readers
flight safety foundation | AeroSafetyWorld | February 2007
39
28
42
AeroSafetyWORLD
7
8
SafetyCalendar | Industry Events
William R. Voss, publisher,
FSF president and CEO
InBrief | Safety News
J.A. Donoghue, editor-in-chief,
FSF director of publications
[email protected], ext. 108
26
LeadersLog | Mike Bell
Mark Lacagnina, senior editor
52
DataLink | Behavior Modification
Wayne Rosenkrans, senior editor
54
InfoScan | Piloting From the Ground
Linda Werfelman, senior editor
58
OnRecord | Recent Accidents and Incidents
Rick Darby, associate editor
Karen K. Ehrlich, web and print
production coordinator
Ann L. Mullikin, production designer
Susan D. Reed, production specialist
Patricia Setze, librarian
Editorial Advisory Board
About the Cover
A new look at stopping distances
on contaminated runways.
© D. Satyajit
We Encourage Reprints (For permissions, go to <www.flightsafety.org/asw_home.html>)
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AeroSafety World © Copyright 2007 by Flight Safety Foundation Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN 1934-4015
Suggestions and opinions expressed in AeroSafety World are not necessarily endorsed by Flight Safety Foundation.
Nothing in these pages is intended to supersede operators’ or manufacturers’ policies, practices or requirements, or to supersede government regulations.
David North, EAB chairman, consultant
William R. Voss, president and CEO
J.A. Donoghue, EAB executive secretary
J. Randolph Babbitt, president and CEO
Eclat Consulting
Steven J. Brown, senior vice president–operations
National Business Aviation Association
Barry Eccleston, president and CEO
Airbus North America
Don Phillips, transportation reporter
International Herald Tribune
Russell B. Rayman, M.D., executive director
Aerospace Medical Association
|
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Editorialpage
Unintentional
Drift
P
ilots are unusually capable people. If you don’t believe me, just
ask any pilot. They’ll confirm
it.
Before cramming my inbox, pause and
let me add two more things. First, I wasn’t
kidding and, second, to do what pilots
do they must have a high degree of selfconfidence and a tendency to be candid,
even blunt, in their communications because that is what is needed for the job.
The ability to function intuitively
in three dimensions is something a pilot takes for granted but is not shared
by many in the population. Considering the high level of skills and training
most pilots have, and the evident love of
the profession and therefore the attention paid to it, some understanding is
achieved about why pilots have a good
deal of self-confidence.
This self-confidence is justified and
confirmed on a daily basis when they
flout the law of gravity and return to
talk about it. If such a bedrock law of
nature can be overcome so routinely,
maybe other rules can also be rejected,
or at least modified. But pilots know
that gravity cannot be ignored, and that
its effects can be mitigated for relatively
brief intervals only if numerous protocols
are observed.
Yet, how pilots can get themselves and
their aircraft into trouble is a subject that
certainly will remain a topic of exhaustive examination after all of us are long
gone simply because there seem to be an
infinite number of routes through which
this can occur.
In the past several months, ASW
has included stories that examined the
trouble pilots can get themselves into
by pushing too hard in their attempts
to complete the mission. “Pressing the
Approach” detailed examples of how
the desire to complete an approach kept
crews from recognizing how badly out of
shape their situation had become (ASW,
December 2006, p. 28).
In this issue we are told that corporate pilots’ desire to get the job done and
please the customer leads them to bend
the rules, even to the point of violating
procedures established for their protection (p. 35). While that story discusses
“procedural intentional noncompliance,”
that’s not what this discussion concerns.
It is the unintentional noncompliance
borne in the effort to solve an evolving
problem.
The paradox is that the same selfconfidence that allows pilots to do the
job also can evolve, through experience,
into allowing an in-flight situation to
move one step closer to an unsafe condition, or even an accident. The authors of
the “Pressing” story said the willingness
to push an approach despite numerous
problems piling up comes from having
gone a bit outside the lines before and getting away with it. The next time, maybe a
little bit more outside, and the drift sets
in. This insidious but very human behavior deserves a great deal of attention.
On the other hand, it is difficult to
get one’s mind around accidents that
happen because pilots invited disaster by
casting aside reason and training, violating rules in ways that dare fate to take its
revenge. The Pinnacle accident report is
the most obvious one of this sort recently,
but there are others less egregious, such
as the Teterboro Challenger accident in
which aircraft weight and balance got
inadequate consideration. But these are
more basic, traditional problems.
It is the unintentional standards drift
that needs further discussion to keep the
idea working on the conscious level.
|
AirMail
Plotting Failures and Successes
R
eading the President’s Message
(ASW 12/06, p. 1) — the words,
“Step back for a moment to consider the white space above the line.
That space represents the accidents that
did not occur” — triggered an image in
my mind going back to the Challenger
Space Shuttle mishap. Engineering Ethics,
a book by Rosa L.B. Pinkus, is dedicated
to a thorough analysis of that accident.
The proper use of statistics is
discussed, and it is concluded, among
other things, that on the evening before
the launch, the wrong graph was made
up. It plotted seal failures as a function
of temperature (book fig. 14.5). This
graph shows that three launches below
60 degrees F had failed joints (five in
total). Four launches above 60 degrees
F had failed joints (five in total).
But the graph included only the
seven flights in which a failure had
occurred, and the database essentially
stopped at 53 degrees F at the lower end.
However, had they plotted all available seal statistics against temperature
(book fig. 14.6) — based on 23 flights
— it would have been clear that there
was an inverse relationship between
failure and temperature. This graph
with also the successes shows that all
three launches (i.e., 100 percent) below
60 degrees F had failed joints (five in
total). Only four out of 20 launches
(i.e., 20 percent) above 60 degrees F had
failed joints (five in total).
(This was statistically a nonsignificant sample, but it was what they should
have worked with, a situation familiar
|
to engineers.) The flights in
which no damage occurred
were grouped toward the hightemperature end of the scale, and the
single high-temperature failure was
a far outlier. Because the predicted
temperature the morning of the launch
was below 40 degrees F, the inevitable
conclusion would have been not to
launch because of the high likelihood of
the failure of a nonredundant seal.
Now, in aviation, we all do the same
as in pre-Challenger days: we plot failures, and almost never failures and successes. In other words, this is the “white
space” that William Voss talks about.
If we want to raise the safety bar, a
better understanding of today’s statistics
would be a big bonus. Recording both
failures and successes could do that.
Rudi den Hertog
Fokker Services
Balancing Act
M
r. Chiles’s assertions in the
InSight column (ASW 12/06,
p. 24) are at odds with the
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
advisory circular — 120-27E, Aircraft
Weight and Balance — he references.
He appears to have taken the position
that using average weights is without
risk because there are envelope constrictions to compensate for other center of
gravity (CG) error-causing phenomena.
For passenger seating, Mr. Chiles claims
that envelope curtailments eliminate the
negative safety aspects of using average
weights. His reasoning is that the FAA
requires CG curtailments to compensate
for
passengers leaving
empty seats at
other-than-expected locations. However, Mr. Chiles fails to note
that air carriers are allowed to eliminate
the curtailments when all seats are filled
(the scenario in the original article; ASW
7/06, p. 55).
Mr. Chiles defeats his own argument with, “Cabins are frequently
subdivided into separate loading zones
to further reduce potential error and
to minimize reductions of the certified
limits.” Taken to the extreme, an operator can designate every row of seats as
a zone. Then there is no longer a need
for curtailments because the location of
every empty seat is known. That technique is used by at least one U.S. airline.
On Jan. 8, 2003, 21 people died in
Charlotte, North Carolina, because the
airplane was out of CG. The U.S. National
Transportation Safety Board seems to
believe that increased average weights
would not have prevented the airplane
from departing with the CG aft of limits.
While not easy or inexpensive, we
must find solutions that will guarantee
that an airplane is within its weightand-balance limits prior to flight. Until
we do that, every takeoff is playing the
odds. Making “reasonable” assumptions
will not change that fact.
Keith Glasscock
Editorial note: Keith Glasscock is the author of
the original InSight article on this subject, “One
Size Fits All? The Danger of Average Weights.”
flight safety foundation | AerosafetyWorld | February 2007
➤
March 1–3 ➤ Heli-Expo 2007 Conference &
Exhibition. Helicopter Association International.
Orlando, Florida, U.S. Marilyn McKinnis,
<[email protected]>, <www.heliexpo.
com>, +1 703.683.4646.
March 6–7 ➤ Human Factors in Aviation
— Academics and Application. Morning Star
Aviation Safety. San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Capt.
David L. Bair, <davidbair@morningstaraviation.
net>, <morningstaraviation.net/home.
php?page=conferences>, +1 720.981.1802.
March 12–14 ➤ 19th annual European
Aviation Safety Seminar (EASS): “Staying
Safe in Times of Change.” Flight Safety
Foundation and European Regions Airline
Association. Amsterdam, Netherlands. Namratha
Apparao, <[email protected]>, <www.
flightsafety.org>, +1 703.739.6700, ext. 101.
March 13–14 ➤ 13th Annual Middle
East Airline Engineering & Maintenance
Conference. Aviation Industry Conferences.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Daisy Munro,
<[email protected]>, <www.
aviationindustrygroup.com>, +44 (0)20 7931 7072.
March 16–20 ➤ Dubrovnik ’07: 62nd IFALPA
Conference. International Federation of Air Line
Pilots’ Associations. Dubrovnik, Croatia. <www.
ifalpa.org/conference>.
March 20–22 ➤ Aviation Industry
Expo. National Air Transportation Association
and the Professional Aviation Maintenance
Association. Orlando, Florida, U.S. Jill Hilgenberg
Ryan, <[email protected]>,
<aviationindustryexpo.com>, +1 952.894.8007,
800.827.8009, ext. 3349.
March 28–31 ➤ Aircraft Electronics
Association 50th Annual Convention & Trade
Show. Reno, Nevada, U.S. <[email protected]>, <www.
aea.net>, +1 775.789.2000, 800.501.2651.
April 2–4 ➤ Maintenance Management
Conference. National Business Aviation
Association. San Diego. Dina Green, <dgreen@
nbaa.org>, <web.nbaa.org/public/cs>,
+1 202.783.9357.
April 2–5 ➤ 58th Annual Avionics
Maintenance Conference. ARINC. Phoenix,
Arizona, U.S. Roger S. Goldberg, +1 410.266.2915.
April 4–5 ➤ 8th Annual Airline Line
Maintenance Conference. Aviation
Industry Conferences. Lisbon, Portugal.
<[email protected]>,
<www.aviationindustrygroup.com>,
+44 (0)207 931 7072.
April 15–18 ➤ FAA Tech Transfer Conference
and Exposition. American Association of Airport
Executives, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration,
et al. Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Tom Zoeller,
<[email protected]>, <www.aaae.org>,
+1 703.824.0500.
April 16–17 ➤ ACI–NA Public Safety
& Security Spring Conference. Airports
Council International–North America. Spokane,
Washington, U.S. Amy Peters, <[email protected]>, <www.aci-na.org>, +1 202.293.8500.
April 17–19 ➤ MRO 2007 Conference &
Exhibition. Aviation Week. Atlanta. Lydia Janow,
+1 212.904.3225, 800.240.7645.
March 20–25 ➤ Australian International
Airshow. Aerospace Australia. Victoria, Australia.
<[email protected]>, + 61 3.5282.0500.
April 18–19 ➤ ERA Regional Airline
Conference. European Regions Airline
Association. Lisbon, Portugal. Paula Bangle,
<[email protected]>, <www.eraa.org/insideera/RAC07.php>, +44 (0)1276 856495.
March 26–29 ➤ 34th Annual International
Operators Conference. National Business
Aviation Association. San Diego. Dina Green,
<[email protected]>, <web.nbaa.org/public/cs>,
+1 202.783.9357.
April 24–26 ➤ 9th Annual Canadian Airport
Management Conference. Airports Council
International–North America and Canadian
Airports Council. Ottawa. <[email protected]>, <www.aci-na.org>, +1 202.293.8500.
March 26–30 ➤ Worldwide Symposium on
Performance of the Air Navigation System.
International Civil Aviation Organization Air
Navigation Bureau. Montreal. <[email protected]>,
<www.icao.int/icao/en/anb/meetings/perf2007/
index.html>, +1 514.954.5831.
April 25–27 ➤ 2nd China International
Conference & Exhibition on Avionics and Test
Equipment (AvioniChina). Grace Fair. Shanghai.
Jasper Shi, <[email protected]>, <www.
gracefair.com/avi_home.htm>, +86 10 64390338,
ext. 85.
March 27–29 ➤ Aerospace Testing Expo
2007. UKIP Media and Events. Munich, Germany.
Ben Drew, <[email protected]>, <www.
aerospacetesting-expo.com>, +44 (0)1306 743744.
May 7–9 ➤ 4th International Aircraft Rescue
Fire Fighting Conference & Exhibition. Aviation
Fire Journal. Las Vegas. <www.aviationfirejournal.
com/vegas/contact.htm>, +1 914.962.5185.
safetycalendar
May 8–10 ➤ 52nd annual Corporate
Aviation Safety Seminar: “Safety — The
Foundation for Excellence.” Flight Safety
Foundation and National Business Aviation
Association. Tucson, Arizona, U.S. Namratha
Apparao, <[email protected]>, <www.
flightsafety.org>, +1 703.739.6700, ext. 101.
May 13–17 ➤ Aerospace Medical
Association 78th Annual Scientific Meeting.
New Orleans. Russell B. Rayman, M.D., <rrayman@
asma.org>, +1 703.739.2240, ext. 103.
May 15–17 ➤ Fifth Anniversary RACCA
Conference. Regional Air Cargo Carriers
Association. Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. <stan@
raccaonline.org>, <www.raccaonline.org/html/
conference.html>, +1 508.747.1430.
May 15–17 ➤ Wildlife Hazard Management
Workshop. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,
Center for Professional Education. Charlotte,
North Carolina, U.S. Billy Floreal, <florealb@erau.
edu>, <www.erau.edu/ec/soctapd/seminar_
progs.html>, +1 386.947.5227.
May 22–24 ➤ European Business Aviation
Convention & Exhibition (EBACE 2007).
National Business Aviation Association and
European Business Aviation Association. Geneva.
Kathleen Blouin, <[email protected]>, <www.
ebace.aero>, +1 202.783.9364.
May 28–30 ➤ Airport Show Dubai. Dubai,
United Arab Emirates. <[email protected]>,
<www.theairportshow.com>, +9714 3329029.
June 3–5 ➤ 3rd Annual International Airfield
Operations Area Expo & Conference. Airport
Business. Milwaukee. Carmen Seeber, <carmen.
[email protected]>, <www.aoaexpo.com>,
800.547.7377, ext. 1622, +1 920.563.6388, ext. 1622.
Aviation safety event coming up?
Tell industry leaders about it.
If you have a safety-related conference,
seminar or meeting, we’ll list it. Get the
information to us early — we’ll keep it
on the calendar until the issue dated the
month before the event. Send listings to
Rick Darby at Flight Safety Foundation,
601 Madison St., Suite 300, Alexandria, VA
22314-1756 USA, or <darby@flightsafety.
org>.
Be sure to include a phone number and/or
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you about the event.
|
Safety News
inBrief
Check, and Re-Check
T
confirm their location before the aircraft crosses the hold-short
line for takeoff.
An accompanying safety recommendation says that the
FAA should require Part 121 operators to provide “specific
guidance to pilots on the runway lighting requirements for
takeoff operations at night.”
Thorn Airfield Lighting
he U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should
require air carrier aircraft operators to establish procedures
requiring flight crews to “positively confirm and crosscheck the airplane’s location at the assigned departure runway”
before beginning a takeoff, the U.S. National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) says.
The NTSB issued the safety recommendation as a result
of its ongoing investigation of an Aug. 27, 2006, accident in
which a Comair Bombardier CRJ100 crashed during a predawn
takeoff in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. Of the 50 people in the
airplane, 49 were killed, and one — the first officer — was seriously injured.
“The airplane had been cleared by air traffic control (ATC)
for takeoff on Runway 22, which is 7,003 ft [2,136 m] long;
however, the crew mistakenly taxied onto Runway 26, which
is 3,500 ft [1,068 m] long, and attempted to take off,” the safety
recommendation says. “The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) did
not record any indication that either pilot was confused about
the aircraft’s position, but no statements were made confirming
the aircraft’s position. CVR and flight data recorder data indicate that, as the airplane accelerated during the initial takeoff
roll, both pilots noted the absence of edge lights on the runway
but continued the takeoff roll.”
The safety recommendation says that flight crews of aircraft
operated under U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations Part 121 should
MU-2B Training Proposal Revised
T
he U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month clarified some
of the special training requirements
that it proposed in September for Mitsubishi MU‑2B pilots (see ASW, 1/07, p.
32). In a supplemental notice of proposed
rule making, the FAA provided the following revised definitions:
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America
• “Initial/transition training means
the training that a pilot is required
to receive if that pilot has fewer
than 50 hours of documented
flight time manipulating the
|
controls, while serving as pilot-incommand [PIC], of [an MU‑2B]
in the preceding 24 months;
• “Requalification training means
the training that a pilot is: eligible
to receive in lieu of initial/transition training if that pilot has at
least 50 hours of documented
flight time manipulating the
controls, while serving as [PIC],
of [an MU‑2B] in the preceding 24 months; [or] required to
receive if it has been more than 12
months since that pilot successfully completed initial/transition, requalification or recurrent
training. Successful completion of
initial/transition training can be
used to satisfy the requirements of
requalification training; [and,]
• “Recurrent training means the
training that a pilot is required
to have satisfactorily completed
within the preceding 12 months.
Successful completion of initial/
transition or requalification
training within the preceding 12
months satisfies the requirement
of recurrent training. A pilot must
successfully complete initial/
transition training or requalification training before being eligible
to receive recurrent training.”
— ML
inBrief
Airprox Attributed to Unapproved Descent
New Life for
Aging Helicopters
T
he U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has begun a five-year
program to apply aging aircraft
reliability techniques to helicopters.
The project also will evaluate the
characteristics of new composite
materials in a variety of operating
conditions.
“The margin for error in flying
a helicopter, especially in rescue
missions, is very slim,” said Sankaran
Mahadevan, a Vanderbilt University
professor of civil and environmental
engineering who is the project’s
principal investigator. “We want
to make sure that helicopter pilots
don’t have to deal with equipment
failure, such as metal fatigue, on
top of the challenges of shifting
winds, unseen obstacles like power
lines, birds flying into the blades and
space limitations of maneuvering in
tight spots.”
The report said that the Tu-154M
crew believed that their clearance was
for a descent to FL 110. Their airplane
descended to FL 133 before they began a
climb back to FL 140, as directed by the
controller.
Each flight crew received a traffic
advisory from the on-board trafficalert and collision avoidance system
(TCAS) and established visual contact
with the other airplane; the controller
received a warning from the short-
term conflict alert system, the report
said.
“It must remain open as to why the
crew of the Tu-154M was of the opinion
it had received an instruction to descend
to FL 110,” the report said. However, one
possibility was that the controller’s instruction repeated the word “one” several
times, and “given the many ‘ones,’ during
execution, it could subsequently have
caused the crew to erroneously continue
its descent,” the report said.
© Getty Images Inc.
T
he failure of a Tupolev Tu-154M
flight crew to comply with air traffic control instructions resulted
in an airprox — or aircraft proximity
— event involving an Airbus A319
near Zurich, Switzerland, the Swiss
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
(AAIB) said.
The radar recording showed that, at
the closest point, the two airplanes had
an altitude difference of 300 ft and a
lateral separation of 1.5 nm (2.8 km).
The final AAIB report on the Feb.
14, 2005, event said that the Tu-154M
was being ferried from Warsaw, Poland,
to Zurich and was nearing Zurich when
an air traffic controller told the pilots to
descend from Flight Level (FL) 170 (approximately 17,000 ft) to FL 150. At the
time, the A319, en route to Zurich from
Cologne/Bonn, Germany, was in level
flight at FL 130.
Taking Steps to Fix Faulty Generators
T
he U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has issued a
series of safety recommendations
as a result of its preliminary investigation of a Sept. 15, 2006, incident
involving the in-flight failure of an auxiliary power unit (APU) generator on
an Airbus A319-111. The airplane had
been dispatched with the APU generator on line in place of the faulty no. 1
main generator, under provisions of the
operator’s minimum equipment list.
During cruise on the flight from
Alicante, Spain, to Bristol, England, the
airplane was near Nantes, France, when
the APU generator disconnected, the
AAIB report said. As a result, power was
lost for some flight instruments and all
radio telephony (RTF) communication,
and the crew was unable to manually
reconfigure the electrical system to recover the services. Instead, they selected
the emergency transponder code and
continued the flight in accordance with
the flight plan. At Bristol, the crew used
the emergency landing gear extension
system and landed the airplane safely.
The AAIB issued safety recommendations calling for Airbus to revise the
“fault-monitoring logic of the generator
control unit [on A320-series aircraft,
from which the A319 was derived] to
prevent the monitoring system from
incorrectly interpreting a fault within
the [unit] as an external system fault”
and to modify the electrical system to
“automatically transfer the electrical feed
to the AC essential bus bar in the event of
the loss of the no. 1 main AC bus bar.”
Two other recommendations called
on Airbus to advise operators of A320s
in which RTF communications rely on
a single bus bar that they could experience a loss of all RTF communications
and to modify the digital audio management units to ensure that power
supplies for RTF communications have
“an improved level of segregation.”
|
inBrief
Wire Watch
More Reports of Bird Strikes
iting statistics showing that
nearly 75 percent of wire strike
accidents and incidents involve
wires that pilots had previously
identified, the Civil Aviation Safety
Authority (CASA) of Australia is
warning aerial agriculture pilots to be
“extra vigilant” about the risks of wire
strikes.
“Preflight planning has to be
extremely thorough to identify wire
strike risks, while wire awareness must
be maintained at all times during
low-level flight,” CASA said. A CASA
report quoted Phil Hurst, chief executive officer of the Aerial Agriculture
Association of Australia, as saying that
planning and risk management are essential in aerial agriculture operations
and should include a hazard checklist
to identify wires and a survey flight
from a safe altitude.
Data show that 119 wire strike
accidents occurred in Australia from
1994 through 2004; of these, 74 accidents, or 62 percent, involved aerial
agricultural flights.
he number of reported bird strikes
in the United Kingdom increased
significantly during the two years
following a 2004 legislative change that
required all bird strikes in U.K. airspace
to be reported, according to a report
prepared for the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (see ASW, 1/07, p. 37). The previous requirement was for reporting bird
strikes that resulted in aircraft damage.
Nevertheless, the report said
that there was a continuing need for
reminders to airports and aircraft
operators to share not only bird strike
reports but also warnings of bird activity. The report also recommended in-
T
C
creased efforts to publicize the proper
methods of reporting bird strikes and
providing feedback on the reports.
The report said that researchers found significant variations in
information sharing. For example, the
report said, “Some aircraft operators
routinely copy their bird strike reports
to the aerodrome management, seeing
such exchange as vital. Others do not;
indeed, one aircraft operator who was
interviewed said that he had deliberately decided not to do so, as the
resulting additional paperwork would
tend to dilute the significance of more
important messages.”
© iStockphoto
In other news …
© iStockphoto
T
he Civil Aviation Administration of Moldova has warned
that an Antonov An-28 being prepared for operation by an unknown
operator in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo is not airworthy (see
ASW, 12/06, p. 18). …The General
Administration of Civil Aviation
of China (CAAC) and Japan Airlines
have reached an agreement calling
for the airline to work with the Civil
Aviation Safety Institute of China on
several projects “aimed at contributing to the development of global flight
safety.” … Steven R. Chealander,
a former captain with American
Airlines and pilot in the U.S. Air
Force, has been sworn in as a member
of the U.S. National Transportation
Safety Board. … Switzerland has become the fourth non-European Union
country to become a member of the
European Aviation Safety Agency;
the others are Iceland, Liechtenstein
and Norway. … David North, former
editor-in-chief of Aviation Week &
Space Technology and current chairman of the AeroSafety World editorial
advisory board, has received the 2006
Lauren D. Lyman Award for excellence in aviation journalism from the
Aerospace Industries Association.
Compiled and edited by Linda Werfelman.
10 |
aviationmedicine
ICAO has increased the
mandatory upper age limit
for airline pilots to 65, but
?
some wonder if a limit is
really necessary.
© Chris Sorensen Photography
BY LINDA WERFELMAN
too old to FLY
M
© iStockphoto
ost people are in their 40s or older
when they become aware that they
are experiencing gradual agerelated physical and mental changes.
The effects of aging are different for everyone,
however, and the age-related developments that
present problems for some people at 40 may
materialize for others when they are considerably younger or older — or they may not
materialize at all.
The effect of aging on pilot performance
has been the subject of numerous studies; results have been mixed. The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) said that, because of
the significant differences in study findings,
| 11
aviationmedicine
© iStockphoto
has been shown
“a clear understanding of the relationship
between age, pilot performance and safety [is]
difficult.”1 Many national civil aeromedical
authorities have dealt with the issue by imposing an upper age limit — for commercial
airline pilots. In November, the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) increased
its mandatory age limit from 60 to 65 for
pilots-in-command; in recent years, some national civil aviation authorities have rejected
limits altogether.
to generally decline
Unavoidable Changes
“Pilot cognitive
performance
with age.”
12 |
Age-related physiological changes are unavoidable (see “Help for Aging Bodies,” page 13, and
“Changing With Age,” page 14).
Some of these changes, like wrinkled skin
and graying hair, have no real effect on the
body’s ability to function — and no effect on a
pilot’s ability to fly an airplane.
Other changes, however, can diminish vision, hearing or mental acuity, all of which can
present problems — often correctable — for
pilots and other crewmembers.
Still other changes, most notably cardiovascular disease and associated heart attacks
and strokes, can — rarely — present the risk of
sudden incapacitation. When the first age limits
were imposed on commercial airline pilots in
the 1960s, sudden incapacitation often was cited
as a major concern. Subsequent studies have
found that, although the risk of in-flight incapacitation increases with the pilot’s age, it does
not present a significant risk to the safety of
flight — in part because, with two-pilot crews,
another pilot is available to take the controls in
the event the pilot flying is incapacitated.2
A number of studies have examined the
effects of age-related changes — physical and
mental — on flight performance and have concluded that these changes usually are “progressive and continuous,” AsMA said in a summary
of study findings. Often, mental changes are of
greater concern to aeromedical specialists than
physical changes.
“Pilot cognitive performance has been shown
to generally decline with age, with the possible
exception of time-sharing tasks,” AsMA said.
“While pilot performance on most memory tasks
has shown age-related declines, aviation expertise has been shown to reduce age differences on
more aviation-related memory tasks. Some studies document age-related declines in attention,
while others show that the performance of older
subjects equals that of younger subjects.”
The AsMA report said the review of study
findings resulted in three conclusions: “First,
performance on measures of most (not all)
cognitive functions decline with advancing age.
Second, the group of average effects may not
predict the performance of any specific individual. Third, there are limited data demonstrating
that the observed ‘declines’ in test performance
are predictive of any changes in performance in
the cockpit.”
A 2006 study of pilot error in air carrier accidents found that the “prevalence and patterns
aviationmedicine
of pilot error … do not seem to change with
pilot age.”3
Age 60 Versus Age 65
For decades, regulatory authorities have adopted
upper age limits in an attempt to reduce risks.
In 1919, ICAO’s predecessor, the International
Commission for Air Navigation, established
a limit of age 45. ICAO began recommending an age-60 limit in 1963 — four years after
what was then the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency
(FAA) imposed a mandatory age-60 limit — and
ICAO’s recommendation became a mandatory
standard for pilots-in-command in 1978. In November 2006, a revision of the ICAO standard
increased the upper age limit to 65 for commercial pilots of two-pilot aircraft, on the condition
that only one pilot per flight crew is older than
60. In addition, ICAO said that an aeromedical
exam is required every six months for pilots 60
and older.4
The ICAO Air Navigation Commission,
which recommended the change, said that,
since 1978, when the age-60 limit was adopted,
“the increase in longevity and associated good
health into old age in many states, the progress
of medical science, the introduction in incapacitation training for multi-pilot operations and
advances in aircraft technology have altered the
flight safety risk associated with aging pilots.”5
When the standard took effect, several countries held to the old age-60 limit. Of those, at
least one — the United States — was considering
increasing the limit to 65.
Even after the ICAO change, some aeromedical specialists — including aeromedical
authorities that have abolished age limits in
several countries — said that commercial pilots
should not be barred from the flight deck simply
because of age.
“The big things that brought on the age-60
rule aren’t factors any more,” said Dr. Stanley R.
Mohler, professor emeritus of aerospace medicine
at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.,
and a member of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) panel that studied age limits in the
late 1950s, before the FAA’s adoption of the rule.
“In the 1960s, heart disease was the big risk.
Alcoholism was a factor because there were more
heavy drinkers. … Today, stroke is increasingly
rare among healthy pilots with their blood pressure under control. Cancer is still a risk, but with
a flight physical every six to 12 months, it will be
diagnosed. If a pilot has Alzheimer’s, he won’t pass
the simulator check,” said Mohler, a staff member
at the U.S. National Institutes of Health Center for
Aging Research when he served on the FAA panel,
and later chief of the Federal Aviation Administration Civil Aeromedical Research Institute (now the
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute). “And the main
cause of sudden incapacitation is food poisoning,
which has nothing to do with age.”
The normal aging process is separate from
disease, and in evaluating a pilot’s fitness for flight,
Help for Aging Bodies
M
edical specialists say there are some things that can be done to
cope with the effects of aging, such as:1,2
• Eat a healthy diet low in fats, cholesterol and sodium that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables and an adequate amount
of fiber — 25 grams daily for women and 38 for men. Specialists
sometimes recommend dietary supplements such as B vitamins
to reduce risks of dementia and to maintain sharp thinking, and
calcium and vitamin D for strong bones;
• Don’t smoke;
• Limit alcohol consumption;
• Exercise regularly. Many specialists recommend at least 30 minutes of brisk walking or other similar activity most days of the
week. In addition, weight training and weight-bearing exercises
like walking can help strengthen bones;
• Limit exposure to the sun, and use sunscreen; and,
• To reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and to keep your thinking sharp, obtain at least six hours
of sleep a night and challenge the brain with activities such as
solving crossword puzzles, reading, learning a foreign language
or developing new hobbies.
— LW
Notes
1.
U.S. National Library of Medicine; U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Aging Changes in … <www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus>.
2.
“How Our Bodies Age (and What You Can Do About It),” The Washington
Post. Dec. 5, 2006.
| 13
aviationmedicine
Changing With Age
A
ging begins at birth, but the effects that most people associate
with middle age and old age
typically begin to become obvious
during their 40s. During this decade,
most people develop presbyopia, difficulty focusing their eyes on nearby
objects. The decline in visual acuity
continues so that by about age 50,
objects at intermediate-distance
— about the distance between a
pilot’s eyes and an instrument panel
— also are difficult to see. These visual problems can be corrected with
eyeglasses.
Slightly later, beginning at about
age 50, many people notice agerelated hearing loss, also known as
presbycusis, the most common of the
forms of hearing loss that are associated with damage to the inner ear,
the auditory nerve or auditory nerve
pathways in the brain. Age-related
hearing loss may be partly a result of
the amount of noise a person has been
exposed to over a lifetime. It affects
men more often than women and
begins after age 20. About 25 percent of people from ages 65–75 have
age-related hearing loss; the figure
increases to 70 to 80 percent for people
older than 75.1 Hearing aids often are
prescribed, and most pilots with hearing loss that impairs communication
either use hearing aids or develop their
own coping strategies.
Because the inner ear also is the
source of control for maintaining
balance, or equilibrium, age-related
deterioration of the ear structure
sometimes makes it more difficult to
maintain balance.
Although changes in vision and
hearing are most pronounced, other
senses also diminish with advancing
age:2
• Taste suffers because the number
of taste buds declines, beginning
around age 40 for women and
14 |
around age 50 for men. During
their 60s, some people experience a decreased sensitivity to
taste sensations, typically losing
salty and sweet tastes first and
then bitter and sour; and,
• During the 70s, a loss of nerve
endings in the nose may reduce
the sense of smell.
A number of musculoskeletal changes
also may occur, including osteoarthritis
— a deterioration of the cartilage in
the joints that can result in pain, swelling and restricted mobility — which
affects millions of people worldwide.
The United Nations World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates that osteoarthritis affects 9.6 percent of men
and 18 percent of women over age
60.3 Osteoarthritis can affect any joint
but most often the knees and hips. In
most cases, pilots with osteoarthritis in
a knee can continue flying, unless the
knee’s range of motion is significantly
restricted or medication impairs mental
functioning; if corrective surgery is required, they can return to flight duties
after recovery.
In addition, people usually begin
to lose height after age 40 — about
0.4 in (1.0 cm) every 10 years. At the
same time, as the proportion of body
fat increases, especially around the
center of the body, including abdominal organs, cells may be lost from the
muscles and internal organs and the
bones may become less dense — a
condition known as osteopenia, which
sometimes progresses to osteoporosis. Eventually, the skin becomes
thinner and less elastic, resulting not
only in wrinkles but also in a lessened
ability to feel pressure, vibration and
temperature.4
As age increases, the risk increases
of developing cardiovascular disease
— a group of diseases affecting the
heart and blood vessels, such as heart
attack and stroke. The heart rate may
slow, and abnormal rhythms called arrhythmias may develop. Blood pressure
sometimes increases.5
The body’s immune system
begins a slow decline after young
adulthood, and it gradually becomes
less able to detect malignant cells.
As a result, cancer risk increases with
age.6
With advancing age, the brain and
spinal cord lose nerve cells and weight.
The breakdown in nerve cells may slow
reflexes. Thought, memory and thinking may slow slightly as a normal part
of aging. More dramatic declines result
from diseases such as Alzheimer’s
disease, which is not part of the normal
aging process.7
— LW
Notes
1.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
(NLM); U.S. National Institutes of
Health (NIH). Age-Related Hearing Loss.
<www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/
article/001045.htm>.
2.
NLM; NIH. Aging Changes in the Senses.
3.
Woolf, Anthony D.; Pfleger, Bruce.
“Burden of Major Musculoskeletal
Conditions.” Bulletin of the World
Health Organization Volume 81 (2003):
646–656.
4.
NLM; NIH. Aging Changes in
Body Shape. <www.nlm.nih.gov/
medlineplus/ency/article/003998.
htm>.
5.
NLM; NIH. Aging Changes in the Heart
and Blood Vessels. <www.nlm.nih.
gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004006.
htm>.
6.
NLM; NIH. Aging Changes in Immunity.
7.
NLM; NIH. Aging Changes in the
Nervous System. <www.nlm.nih.
gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004023.
htm>.
aviationmedicine
“only three things matter,” Mohler said.
“They are the ability to perform, freedom
from impairing diseases — if you have
them but they don’t impair you, so what?
— and motivation to keep flying.”
William R. Voss, president and CEO
of Flight Safety Foundation and former
director of the ICAO Air Navigation
Bureau, agreed that age is not a good
indicator of a pilot’s fitness for flight.
“The possibility of incapacitation of
a pilot causing an accident in a modern, multi-crew airplane is extremely
remote,” Voss said. “It hasn’t been a
problem in age-60 states, and it hasn’t
been a problem in age 65 states [that
adopted an age-65 limit years before
ICAO’s action].”
The current debate should focus not
on age limits but on “doing a better job
of assessing medical fitness regardless
of age,” he said.
Dr. Anthony Evans, chief of ICAO’s
Aviation Medicine Section, agreed that
age limits are “quite good at reducing
risks but unfair to some and probably
generous to others. By that, I mean some
individuals are fit to continue operating
when elderly, but others are not.”
Nevertheless, an age limit might be
the best technique for determining pilot
fitness, Evans said.
“As we don’t have adequate assessment tools to accurately determine who
is in one group or another, a one-sizefits-all approach, based on average risk
(one that fits in with generally accepted
norms of retirement) is the fairest
system,” he said. “Without a retirement
age, the logical conclusion is that pilots
will operate until they fail a medical
or an operational check. Without a
culture change, there will continue to
be a reluctance [by medical examiners
and check pilots] to fail an experienced
pilot, with his career (perhaps a glittering one) ending in failure.”
Evans said that medical evaluations
and simulator checks developed to determine whether pilots have age-related
problems would help identify those
who are no longer fit for flight but are
“far from being 100 percent accurate.”
Dr. Dougal Watson, principal
medical officer for the Civil Aviation
Authority in New Zealand, which has
no upper age limit for pilots, said that
although age influences various aspects
of safety-related human performance, it
is not the most significant factor.
“On purely medical-safety grounds,
an argument to do away with age-based
exclusion criteria has a very solid foundation,” Watson said. Nothing in New
Zealand’s aviation safety record indicates
that the absence of an upper age limit
has caused safety problems — or that it
offers any safety advantages, he said.
Nevertheless, he added, “Age is an
important factor. … As age increases,
so does the risk of cardiovascular
incapacitation (heart attacks, etc.) and
neurological incapacitation (cerebrovascular — strokes … etc.), while mental/physical performance and capacity
reduces. A safe certification system that
does not utilize age-based exclusion
criteria must, therefore, consider those
age-related risk factors.”
In New Zealand, aeromedical certification involves a “structured system of
cardiovascular risk assessment,” which
closely resembles cerebrovascular risk
assessment, as well as periodic operational performance evaluations, Watson
said. The result is that some pilots
are denied aeromedical certification
“because of age-related medical factors,
rather than because of their age alone.”
In Canada, where government regulations have never included an upper age
limit, Dr. Jay Danforth, Transport Canada’s acting director of civil aviation and
marine medicine, agreed that “maybe we
should be looking at ways to risk-identify
those in the older age group,” perhaps
with more frequent medical evaluations
and/or checks of age-specific ailments.
“We’re continually trying to fine-tune
and evaluate the efficiency of our medical
assessment process.” ●
Notes
1. Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA).
“The Age 60 Rule.” Aviation, Space and
Environmental Medicine Volume 75
(August 2004): 708–715.
2. Ibid.
3. Li, Guohua; Grabowski, Jurek G.; Baker,
Susan P.; Rebok, George W. “Pilot Error in
Air Carrier Accidents: Does Age Matter?”
Aviation, Space and Environmental
Medicine Volume 77 (July 2006): 737–741.
4. The International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) issues both
recommended practices and mandatory
standards. If ICAO’s member states do
not comply with a recommended practice, they are asked to inform the ICAO
Council; if they deviate from a standard,
notification is required.
5. ICAO. “Changes to Annex 1 Include New
Upper Age Limit for Pilots.” ICAO Journal
Volume 61 (March–April 2006).
Further Reading From FSF Publications
FSF Editorial Staff. “Memory Lapses Usually
Do Not Signal Serious Medical Problems.”
Human Factors & Aviation Medicine Volume
52 (July–August 2005).
Mohler, Stanley R. “Prompt Treatment
May Minimize Knee Problems and Their
Interference With Flight Duties — and Daily
Routines.” Human Factors & Aviation Medicine
Volume 51 (July–August 2004).
Mohler, Stanley R. “Early Diagnosis is Key to
Correcting Age-Related Vision Problems Among
Pilots.” Human Factors & Aviation Medicine
Volume 47 (September–October 2000).
FSF Editorial Staff. “Heredity, Disease, Aging
Present Crewmembers With Increased Risk
of Hearing Loss.” Human Factors & Aviation
Medicine Volume 47 (July–August 2000).
| 15
2006review
Declines in
accidents
showed
progress in 2006,
but the number
of fatalities
remained
stubbornly high
as traditional
risk categories
continued to
take a toll.
T
he major accident record for commercial
jets, business jets and commercial turbo‑
props worldwide in 2006 was a marked
improvement over the preceding year.
However, accidents in all categories resulted in
the deaths of 903 people, with more than half of
all major accidents continuing to occur during
the approach and landing phase of flight (see
“Changing Accident Classification,” page 21).
And loss of control (LOC) accidents involv‑
ing commercial jets and controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT) accidents involving commercial
turboprops again accounted for the majority of
fatalities in the respective categories.
While the number of accidents declined, the
commercial jet fleet last year flew 5.2% more
departures. The commercial turboprop fleet
size was virtually unchanged. Approximately
10 percent of the world’s commercial jet fleet
is Eastern‑built, while almost 25 percent of the
commercial turboprop fleet is Eastern-built
(Table 1). The business jet fleet showed the largest
growth rate, with a 2 percent increase from 2005.
A brief review of data on commercial jet ac‑
cidents for the previous two years will help put
the 2006 results in perspective. In 2004, there
were 13 major accidents involving Western-built
and Eastern-built commercial jets in scheduled
and unscheduled passenger and cargo opera‑
tions worldwide, with 196 fatalities. That year
was the first in history without a commercial
jet CFIT accident, and less than half of the
major accidents occurred during approach and
landing.
In 2005, commercial jets were involved in 16
major accidents with 778 fatalities. Of that total, 10
occurred during approach and landing, five were
CFIT accidents, and three were LOC accidents.
A Mixed Year
© D. Satyajit
BY JIM BURIN
16 |
2006review
In 2006, however, there were 11 major ac‑
The Fleet — 2006
cidents involving commercial jets, with a total of
Aircraft category
Western-built
Eastern-built
745 fatalities (Table 2). The accident total included
Commercial jets
17,609
1,839
six approach and landing accidents, one CFIT
Commercial turboprops
4,774
1,710
accident and three LOC accidents. The com‑
Business jets
—
—
mercial jet major accident rate last year showed
Source: Ascend
a significant decline to fewer than 0.40 major ac‑
cidents per million departures, while the five-year
Table 1
moving average of that
rate resumed the down‑
Major Accidents, Worldwide Commercial Jets
ward trend interrupted by
January 1, 2006–December 31, 2006
the 2005 record (Figure 1,
Date
Operator
Aircraft
Location
Phase
page 18). Accident rates
Feb. 8, 2006
UPS
DC-8F
Philadelphia, USA
Enroute
can be calculated only for
May
3,
2006
Armavia
A-320
Alder-Sochi,
Russia
Approach
Western-built aircraft be‑
July 9, 2006
S7 Airlines
A-310
Irkutsk, Russia
Landing
cause there are no reliable
worldwide exposure data
Aug. 22, 2006
Pulkovo Aviation
TU-154
Nr. Donetsk, Ukraine
Enroute
for Eastern-built aircraft.
Aug. 27, 2006
Comair
CRJ-100
Lexington, KY, USA
Takeoff
Business jets were
Sept. 1, 2006
Iran Air Tours
TU-154
Mashhad, Iran
Landing
involved in 10 major
Sept. 29, 2006
GOL
B-737
Sao Felix, Brazil
Enroute
accidents in 2006, just
Oct. 3, 2006
Mandala Airlines
B-737
Tarakan, Indonesia
Landing
slightly above the histori‑
Oct. 10, 2006
Atlantic Airways
BAE-146
Stord-Sorstokken, Norway Landing
cal average for this type
Oct. 29, 2006
ADC Airlines
B-737
Abuja, Nigeria
Takeoff
of aircraft, in which 19
Nov. 18, 2006
Aerosucre Colombia B-727
Bogota, Colombia
Approach
people died, down from
CFIT accident Loss-of-control accident
15 accidents and 23
Source: Ascend
fatalities in 2005 (Table 3,
page 18). Nine accidents
Table 2
happened in the first
eight months of the year, and nine of the 10 were and LOC. Recent data clearly show the impor‑
approach and landing accidents.
tance of eliminating these types of accidents: In
There were 23 major accidents last year
2004, there were 196 commercial jet fatalities. In
involving commercial turboprops, including all
2005, there were 778 commercial jet fatalities.
Western-built and Eastern-built turboprop air‑
The difference? There were no CFIT accidents
craft with more than 14 seats, with 139 fatalities
and only one LOC accident in 2004, compared
(Table 4, page 19). The total was down from 247
with five CFIT accidents and three LOC acci‑
deaths in 39 commercial turboprop accidents in
dents in 2005. The eight accidents accounted for
2005, but there were more than twice as many
more than 70 percent of 2005 fatalities.
accidents as the total for commercial jets last
The five-year moving average of commercial
year. Eleven of the commercial turboprop ac‑
jet CFIT accidents continues to improve, but
cidents occurred during approach and landing,
slowly (Figure 2, page 20). Despite a 30 percent
and five were CFIT accidents.
decrease in CFIT accidents since 1998, a look at
the average trend line highlights the difficulty of
sustaining
low CFIT accident numbers. The aver‑
Persistent Killers
As has been the case for the last 20 years,
age number of commercial jet CFIT accidents for
the past decade has been stuck at around four,
the types of fatal accidents that continue to
while the average number of CFIT accidents
predominate are CFIT, approach and landing
Total
19,548
6,484
12,724
Fatal
0
113
126
170
49
28
154
0
4
96
5
| 17
2006review
The fact that approach and landing ac‑
cidents in 2006 accounted for slightly more
than half of the major accidents involving
1.6
Major-accident rate
Five-year moving average
commercial jets and commercial turboprops,
1.4
plus eight of the nine business jet major ac‑
1.2
cidents, clearly shows that the industry must
1.0
continue to focus on improving safety in this
0.8
phase of flight.
0.6
Most, if not all, of the causes of these ac‑
0.4
cidents are well-documented and addressed in
0.2
the Flight Safety Foundation Approach-and0.0
landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) Tool Kit.
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
These
accidents frequently involve nonpre‑
Year
cision approaches, adverse weather, unstable
Note: Worldwide departures are estimated through Dec. 31, 2006. Total departure data are not available for Easternapproaches and the failure to go around.
built aircraft.
The Foundation’s CFIT/ALAR Action Group
Source: Ascend
(CAAG) has conducted 24 workshops around
Figure 1
the world to disseminate the risk-reduction
interventions of the
ALAR Tool Kit. In
Major Accidents, Worldwide Business Jets
2006, workshops
were conducted in
Date
Operator
Aircraft
Location
Phase
Fatal
Caracas, New Delhi
Jan. 2, 2006
Avcom
Hawker 700
Kharkov, Ukraine
Approach
3
and Tokyo.
Jan. 24, 2006
Goship Air
Citation Ultra
Carlsbad, CA, USA
Landing
4
There is no consis‑
Feb 15, 2006
Jet 2000
Falcon 20
Kiel, Germany
Landing
0
tent historical pattern
Feb. 16, 2006
Lech Air
Citation I
Busckin, Iraq
Approach
6
for commercial jet
June 2, 2006
International Jet Charter Lear 35
Groton, CT, USA
Approach
2
LOC major accidents,
June 26, 2006
Great Ideas Corp
Hawker F3
Barcelona, Venezuela Landing
0
although the numbers
July 5, 2006
Vigojet
Saberliner
Mexico City, Mexico
Landing
0
after 2000 showed
July 19, 2006
Tomco II
Citation Encore Cresco, IA, USA
Landing
2
good improvement
Aug. 28, 2006
Netjets
Hawker 800
Carson City, NV, USA Descent
0
until 2005, when the
Dec. 30, 2006
Fact Air
Sabreliner
Culiacan, Mexico
Approach
2
three-year moving
CFIT accident
average reversed and
Source: Ascend
began a rising trend.
Hopefully, the revised
Table 3
version of the Airplane
involving all commercial aircraft — jets and tur‑
Upset Recovery Train‑
boprops — has been about 12 a year.
ing Aid distributed by Airbus and Boeing will
The ability of the terrain awareness and warn‑
assist in reducing the risk in this critical area.
ing system (TAWS) to help prevent CFIT accidents
Challenge of Error
remained unchallenged in 2006 as, once again, no
When considering the statistics, it must be
TAWS-equipped aircraft was involved in a CFIT
accident. The fact that there has never been a CFIT remembered that the Foundation’s goal is to
make aviation safer by reducing the risk of an
accident involving a TAWS-equipped aircraft is
accident. Commercial aviation has never had
ample proof that the best way to reduce the risk of
a year with zero accidents, and there has never
a CFIT accident is to install TAWS.
Accident rate per million departures
Western-Built Commercial Jet Major-Accident Rates, 1993–2006
18 |
2006review
been a flight with zero risk. There are challenges
In the 22 years since that report was released,
still to address.
there have been many technological advances
One of the challenges is human error. Human
and a lot of projects to improve various aspects
factors specialists and aviation safety profession‑
of aviation safety, but there has not been much
als agree that human error must be addressed if
progress on this challenge. A 1999 report by the
there is to be continued success in reducing risk.
National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR)—Neth‑
FSF founder Jerome Lederer said, “The allevia‑
erlands said that flight crews were a factor in 69
tion of human error … continues to be the most
percent of accidents from 1970 to 1997. Data
important problem facing aerospace safety.” Note
from Boeing about the primary causes of aircraft
that he said “alleviation,” not “elimination.”
accidents from 1983 to 2002 show that flight
There are many aviation safety efforts
crews are the leading cause of about 68 percent
underway around the world, but few directly
of all accidents. We also have data showing the
address the issue of human error. Most of the
involvement in accidents of errors by air traffic
information on human performance and human
controllers, maintenance personnel and others.
error deals with flight
crews, because that
Major Accidents, Worldwide Commercial Turboprops (> 14 Seats)
is where most of the
data are available.
Date
Operator
Aircraft
Location
However, everybody
Jan. 2, 2006
Ruenzori Airways
Antonov 26
Fataki, DR Congo
makes mistakes
Jan. 24, 2006
Aerolift
Antonov 12
Mbuji Mayi, DR Congo
— pilots, air traffic
Feb. 5, 2006
Air Cargo Carriers
Shorts 360
Watertown, WI, USA
controllers, mainte‑
Feb. 8, 2006
Tri Costal Air
Metro II
Paris, TN, USA
nance personnel and
March 11, 2006
Air Deccan
ATR 7
Bangalore, India
even management
March 18, 2006
Ameriflight
Beech 99
Butte, MT, USA
people. Errors are the
March 28, 2006
Phoenix Avia
Antonov 12
Payam, UAE
downside of having a
March 31, 2006
TEAM
Let 410
Saquarema, Brazil
brain. And there are
April 16, 2006
TAM
Fokker-27
Guayaramerin, Bolivia
many reasons why
April
24,
2006
Air
Million
Cargo
Antonov
2
Lashkar,
Afghanistan
people make errors
April 27, 2006
LAC Skycongo
Convair 580
Amisi, DR Congo
— training, design,
May
23,
2006
Air
Sao
Tome
DHC-6
Twin
Otter
San
Tome, Africa
corporate culture and
June 5, 2006
Merpati Nusantara
CASA 212
Bandanaira, Indonesia
fatigue, to name just
June 21, 2006
Yeti Airlines
DHC-6
Jumla, Nepal
a few.
Goma,
DR Congo
July
7,
2006
Mango
Airlines
Antonov
12
The first step
July 10, 2006
PIA
Fokker 27
Multan, Pakistan
in addressing this
Kigoma,
Tanzania
July
12,
2006
TransAfrik
Lockheed
Hercules
challenge is to admit
Sullivan, MO, USA
July 29, 2006
Adventure Aviation DHC-6
that human error is a
AN-28
Bukavu,
DR Congo
Aug.
3,
2006
Tracep
problem and ac‑
knowledge that it is
EMB-110
Bennington, VT, USA
Aug. 4, 2006
AirNow
not going to go away.
Aug. 13, 2006
Air Algerie
Lockheed Hercules Piacenza, Italy
In 1985, the LautmanCerrillos, Argentina
Aug. 28, 2006
Paraguay Air Service Nomad 22B
Gallimore report
Puncak Jaya, Inodnesia
Nov. 17, 2006
Trigana Air Service
DHC-6
from Boeing said that
Nairobi, Kenya
Dec. 30, 2006
Sky Relief
DHC-5
flight crew error was
CFIT accident
a causal factor in 70
Source: Ascend
percent of accidents
Table 4
from 1977 to 1984.
Phase
Fatal
Climb
0
Landing
0
Enroute
3
Enroute
1
Landing
0
Enroute
2
Climb
0
Enroute
19
Landing
1
Landing
2
Landing
8
Approach
4
Landing
0
Approach
9
Climb
6
Takeoff
45
Approach
0
Takeoff
6
Approach
17
Approach
1
Enroute
3
Enroute
0
Enroute
12
Takeoff
0
| 19
2006review
Some interventions help provide a level of
defense when mistakes are made. These include
crew resource management (CRM), threat and
error management (TEM), and improved deci‑
sion making, all of which can improve human
performance and reduce the risk or the conse‑
quences of an error.
Unfortunately, human error is a tough nut to
crack. It is not easy to solve a human error prob‑
lem with a hardware change or technology update.
And passing a rule will not help; human error
does not normally lend itself to regulatory fixes.
One part of the solution is education and
increased awareness. A good CRM course,
training on TEM, an in-depth discussion about
fatigue, learning the basics about risk manage‑
ment and decision making, studying the lessons
learned from an accident — all help improve
human performance and reduce human error.
Technology is another way to address this
challenge. It does not have to be a high-tech so‑
lution; it can be as simple as a mechanical guard
on a critical switch. Examples of technologies
that have helped reduce the impact of human
error are flight operational quality assurance
(FOQA), engineered materials arresting system
(EMAS), traffic alert and collision avoidance
system (TCAS), minimum safe altitude warning
(MSAW) system, and TAWS. Note that most of
Western-Built Commercial Jet CFIT Accidents. 1993–2006
10
CFIT accidents
Five-year moving average
CFIT accidents per year
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Year
CFIT = Controlled flight into terrain
Source: Ascend
Figure 2
20 |
these are not designed to prevent human error.
EMAS, TCAS, MSAW and TAWS are designed
to mitigate an error once it happens. In fact,
these systems are designed to function only if
there is an error.
Other tools useful in addressing human er‑
ror are standard operating procedures (SOPs),
culture surveys and a corporate commitment
to a just culture. The role of SOPs in reducing
human error is major, and it has been addressed
in several efforts, such as the Standard Operat‑
ing Procedures Template, an element of the FSF
ALAR Tool Kit.
Surveys assist in identifying an organization’s
culture; the type of culture can directly affect
how human error is addressed. The Airline
Management Self-Audit developed by the FSF
Icarus Committee was one of the first of these
surveys (Flight Safety Digest 11/96). Today, more
sophisticated surveys benchmark an organiza‑
tion’s culture against similar groups, highlight
areas for improvement and, most importantly,
provide interventions to enable movement
toward a just culture.
A just culture is one that establishes an
atmosphere of trust, in which personnel are
encouraged to provide essential safety-related
information and acknowledge errors, but
where there is a distinct and acknowledged line
between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
This fosters an environment in which human
error can be identified and addressed.
Human error will never be eliminated.
Like risk, it will be present and needs to be
addressed as long as we fly aircraft. However,
the goal is to eliminate as much of it as pos‑
sible. The key is to start the effort. Borrowing a
slogan coined elsewhere, the industry needs to
wage a “war on error.”
The latest data from Boeing on the primary
causes of accidents from 1996 to 2005 show
flight crew factors still dominate, but they are
down from nearly 70 percent to 55 percent. It
is unclear if this decrease indicates progress in
reducing human error, or just a reflection of the
fact that we are now looking for errors beyond
those made by pilots. Dan Maurino, coordinator
2006review
Changing Accident Classification
A
fter much thought, Flight Safety Foundation has departed from the use of “hull loss” or “total
loss” as appropriate definitions for the most severe type of aircraft accident. Starting with this
report, the Foundation will use “major accident,” as defined below.
Effective aviation safety efforts are driven by data to document our performance and measure
our progress. Today, there are new methods to determine safety performance, some that use nonaccident data to identify potential problems and predict high risk areas before an accident occurs.
However, accidents and accident rates remain the bottom line of aviation safety.
There are many different ways to determine what constitutes an accident and how to derive accident rates. The differences stem from how terms are defined. The definitions of accidents used by most
national authorities largely are based on the definitions in International Civil Aviation Organization
Annex 13, Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation.
Ultimately, there must be a determination of what constitutes an accident, accompanied by
a measure of the severity of the accident. One measure of severity is “hull loss,” a manufacturerdeveloped term that has been widely used. A hull loss is an accident in which airplane damage is
beyond economic repair. Another classification scheme used by the insurance industry differentiates
“total loss” accidents, in which either the aircraft is destroyed, the damage cannot be repaired or the
cost of repairs exceeds the insurance value. It is important to note that “total loss” does not mean
the aircraft never flies again; in fact, several “total loss” aircraft are flying today. Accidents also are differentiated by the involvement of fatalities or substantial aircraft damage.
As mentioned above, the Foundation now uses the term “major accident” as the defining measure. A major accident involves any of the following three conditions:
• The aircraft is destroyed, which is defined as sustaining damage that exceeds a threshold
defined by the Ascend Damage Index (ADI) developed by Paul Hayes of Ascend, formerly
Airclaims. ADI is the ratio of the costs of repair and the projected value of the aircraft had it
been brand-new at the time of the accident. If the ADI exceeds 50 percent, the accident is
considered major; or,
• There are multiple fatalities; or,
• There is at least one fatality, and the aircraft is substantially damaged.
The use of the major accident classification criteria ensures that an accident is not determined by
an aircraft’s age or by its insurance coverage, and it gives a more accurate reflection of the high risk
areas that need to be addressed.
— JB
of flight safety and human factors for the Inter‑
national Civil Aviation Organization, said, “The
discovery of human error should be considered
the starting point of an investigation, not the
end point.” This accurately reflects the progres‑
sive and proactive approach necessary to suc‑
cessfully address the challenge of human error.
If there is an accident, the question is not
“Was there human error?” If there was an ac‑
cident, there was human error. The questions
are “Why was there human error?” and, more
importantly, “What can be done to prevent or
reduce the probability of it happening again?”
Over the past six years, the number of acci‑
dents has decreased as the number of departures
has increased. This is an impressive accomplish‑
ment. But, to reduce the risk even more and to
keep the accident rate coming down, we must
address human error. We must acknowledge it,
educate all aviation personnel on it and devise
ways, both technical and nontechnical, to ad‑
dress it. Only by doing this will we truly be able
to make aviation safer by reducing the risk of an
accident. ●
Jim Burin is director of technical programs for Flight
Safety Foundation.
| 21
COVERSTORY
Knowing
the Distance
T
he complexities in deceleration performance of turbojet
airplanes on slippery runways
readily generate misunderstanding and confusion among pilots and
dispatchers. For the current winter
flying season, U.S. airlines and other
turbojet operators were urged to voluntarily update procedures to leave
flight crews no doubt about landing
performance or safety margins. But
uncertainty prevails in whether such
updates will comply with eventual
changes to the U.S. Federal Aviation
Regulations (FARs).
A safety review by the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) —
which found deficiencies in how some
22 |
airlines determine landing distance and
unexplained inconsistencies among
airlines — prompted this special focus,
which is linked to the investigation of a
U.S. airline accident in December 2005.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) and the FAA urgently
recommended last year that operators
of turbojet airplanes ensure that flight
crews reassess landing distance capability during normal operations if weather,
runway conditions, airplane weight
or braking systems have changed as
of the time of arrival compared with
conditions used for dispatch. During 2007, the FAA will pursue related
rule making that includes a 15 percent
landing-distance safety margin already
applied in European regulations. At
press time, the FAA was coordinating
a charter order to establish an aviation
rulemaking committee (ARC) to obtain
industry recommendations on issues
in the safety alert, according to Jerry
Ostronic, an aviation safety inspector
coordinating this activity within the
FAA. The next step will be an announcement in the Federal Register
after the FAA administrator signs the
order; the announcement date had not
been set, Ostronic said.
Attention to these issues complements the continuing initiative by the
air transport industry to reduce the risk
of all types of approach and landing
accidents.1
COVERSTORY
The FAA plans to require
commercial and fractional
turbojet flight crews to confirm
landing distance capability on
arrival in specific situations.
© D. Satyajit
By Wayne Rosenkrans
“A review of the current applicable
[FARs] indicates that the regulations do
not specify the type of landing distance
assessment that must be performed at
the time of arrival, but operators are
required to restrict or suspend operations when conditions are hazardous,”
the FAA said. “Most of the data for
runways contaminated by snow, slush,
standing water or ice were developed to
show compliance with European Aviation Safety Agency and Joint Aviation
Authorities airworthiness certification and operating requirements. The
FAA considers the data developed for
showing compliance with the European
contaminated runway certification or
operating requirements, as applicable,
to be acceptable for making landing
distance assessments for contaminated
runways at the time of arrival.”
In Safety Alert for Operators no.
06012, “Landing Performance Assessments at Time of Arrival (Turbojets),”
the FAA said that the fall 2006 recommendations, and presumably the rule
making under way, apply to all turbojet
operations conducted under FARs
Parts 121, 135, 125 and 91 Subpart K,
which apply to air carriers; commuter
and on-demand operators; airplanes
seating 20 or more passengers or with
6,000-lb (2,722-kg) payload capacity;
and fractional ownership operators,
respectively.
Situations such as in-flight emergencies or abnormal and irregular configurations of the airplane involving engine
failure or flight-control malfunctions
may require a flight crew to make an
exception. For example, they could elect
instead to use the “actual/absolute deceleration performance capability of the
airplane without an added safety margin
to determine whether safety requires
continued flight or an immediate landing,” the FAA said.
Assessing landing distance at the
time of arrival only occasionally would
come into play. “This assessment does
not mean that a specific calculation
must be made before every landing,”
the FAA said. “In many cases, the
before-takeoff criteria, with their large
safety margins, will be adequate to
ensure that there is sufficient landing
distance with at least a 15 percent safety
margin at the time of arrival. Only
when the conditions at the destination
airport deteriorate while en route … or
the takeoff was conducted under the
[FARs alternate airport] provisions …
would a calculation or other method of
determining the actual landing distance
capability normally be needed.”
Reverse Thrust Credit?
With investigation of the accident continuing, the NTSB asked operators to
adopt the safety alert’s guidance without delay. “We think airlines should
voluntarily adopt the procedures
contained in the FAA’s [safety alert]
now, as we are entering another winter
flying season,” NTSB Chairman Mark
Rosenker said in December 2006.
The accident occurred during a
snowstorm Dec. 8, 2005, as Southwest
Airlines Flight 1248, a Boeing 737-700,
landed on snow-contaminated Runway
31C at Chicago Midway Airport (see
ASW, 8/06, p. 13, and 12/06, p. 11). The
airplane overran the runway at about
50 kt, rolled through a blast fence and a
perimeter fence, and struck two cars on
an off-airport street, killing a six-yearold boy in one of the cars.
According to the NTSB, while
holding before the approach to Midway, the flight crew obtained the landing runway assignment, surface wind
and braking action reports, and used
an on-board laptop performance computer to calculate expected landing
performance under wet-fair braking
conditions with immediate deployment of thrust reversers upon touchdown. The thrust reverser deployment,
however, occurred 18 seconds after
touchdown. As a result, the NTSB
recommended that FAA prohibit
flight crews from relying on deceleration provided by the thrust-reverser
system during en route calculations of
landing distance — a practice currently allowed for operators of specific
transport category airplanes.
FAA initially responded to the
NTSB, and its own safety review, by
announcing a policy that was to have
been effective last October. Subsequently, FAA issued the safety alert
incorporating revisions based on
| 23
COVERSTORY
Airline Inconsistencies
FAA reviewed pilot and dispatcher
training, procedures and flight operations. Its review also considered nonU.S. requirements. Operating manuals
at about half of the responding airlines
“did not have policies in place for assessing whether sufficient landing distance exists at the time of arrival, even
when conditions … are different and
worse than those planned at the time
the flight was released,” the FAA said.
Among airlines that had implemented such policies, some lacked
“procedures that account for runway
surface conditions or reduced braking
action reports.” Many did not apply a
safety margin to the expected actual
landing distance. “Those that do [apply
a safety margin were] inconsistent in
applying an increasing safety margin
24 |
as the expected actual landing distance
increased,” the FAA said.
Some of the airlines had developed performance data — or obtained
products from vendors — that indicated
landing distances less than those in the
airplane manufacturer’s performance data
for the same conditions. “In other cases,
an autobrake landing distance chart [was]
misused to generate landing performance
data for contaminated runway conditions,” the FAA said. “Also, some operators’ data have not been kept up to date
with the manufacturer’s current data.”
When allowed by the FAA, reverse
thrust credit was not applied uniformly
by flight crews at the time of arrival.
“Pilots may be unaware of these differences,” the FAA said. “In one case, there
were differences found within the same
operator from one series of airplane
to another within the same make and
model. The operator’s understanding
of the data — with respect to reverse
thrust credit and the information conveyed to pilots — were both incorrect.”
during aircraft certification without any
safety factors added — the FAA recommends that pilots understand its use as
the foundation of operational landing
distances. This distance — demonstrated by test pilots — is based on uncommon flying techniques such as high
sink rates at touchdown and approach
angles much different from line operations. This distance also requires a dry,
level (zero slope) runway at standard
public comments, such as objections
by the National Air Transportation
Association (NATA) and the National
Business Aviation Association, which
argued that rule making — not a
policy — was required by law and that
the associations’ members operated
turbojet airplanes in situations unlike
those of airlines. “We believe there
are sufficient unique issues within
the Part 91 Subpart K and 135 operational environment that make special
consideration, separate from Part 121
operational requirements, necessary to
ensure creation of a successful regulatory solution,” said James Coyne, NATA
president. “As it is likely the FAA’s rule
making will be based upon the [safety
alert], NATA remains concerned that
the ultimate notice of proposed rule
making … may create unnecessary
problems and safety concerns for Part
91 Subpart K and Part 135 operators …
unduly burden the industry or unnecessarily restrict airport access.”
Landing Distance Basics
Determining whether a turbojet
airplane can be brought safely to a
full stop on a specific contaminated
runway first requires knowledge of the
actual landing distance, the maximum
deceleration capability known to be
possible in the landing conditions
— with no safety margin added by the
flight crew. This distance accounts for
reported meteorological and runway
surface conditions, runway slope,
airplane weight, airplane configuration,
approach speed, use of autoland or a
head-up guidance system, and ground
deceleration devices.
Although dispatchers and flight
crews typically do not directly use the
unfactored certified landing distance —
the landing distance required by FARs
day temperatures without autobrakes,
autoland systems, head-up guidance
systems or thrust reversers, so actual
landing distance would be significantly
longer in line operations.
Before takeoff, the factored landing distance for the destination airport
must be determined by a dispatcher
or flight crew. This landing distance
must incorporate the required safety
margins. Under the applicable FARs, if
the factored landing distance does not
comply with the requirements, the airplane can depart if the dispatcher/flight
crew specifies an alternate airport that
COVERSTORY
complies. At the time of arrival, flight
crews also have to consider the validity
of any external information and whether
it applies to their flight. “Operators and
pilots should use the most adverse reliable braking action report, if available,
or the most adverse expected conditions for the runway, or portion of the
runway, that will be used for landing
when assessing the required landing
distance prior to landing,” the FAA said.
“Because pilot braking action reports are
subjective, flight crews must use sound
judgment in using them to predict the
stopping capability of their airplane.”
International teams have been
working for more than a decade to
establish a uniform worldwide method
of measuring and communicating
slippery runway conditions. “Unfortunately, joint industry and multinational
government tests have not established
a reliable correlation between runway
friction under varying conditions, type
of runway contaminants, braking action
reports and airplane braking capability,”
the FAA said. “Therefore, operators and
flight crews [likewise] cannot base the
calculation of landing distance solely on
runway friction meter readings.”
Landing Distance Refresher
Boeing Commercial Airplanes last year
presented briefings about airplane deceleration on slippery runways — specifically using the 737-700 as a case study.
“During the investigation into a recent
737 landing overrun accident, it was
discovered that there is misunderstanding and confusion among some crews
and operators about several issues relating to airplane performance on slippery
runways,” said Mark Smith, air safety
investigator, Boeing Air Safety Investigation, at Flight Safety Foundation’s
International Air Safety Seminar in
Paris in October 2006. Like the FAA, he
emphasized that a key operational difference is that no reverse thrust is used
to establish factored landing distance for
the airplane flight manual (AFM). Reverse thrust is used, however, to establish actual landing distance data, which
Boeing calls “advisory data” in its quick
reference handbook (QRH), because this
is the recommended standard operating
procedure for landings.
AFM landing distance data and
QRH landing distance data both are
derived from the flight test demonstration landing distance, which assumed
the same “max manual” braking on a
dry runway and the same transition
distance, a one-second period for deployment of automatic speed brakes and
initial brake application. However, in
the AFM, the air distance varies for each
airplane model as measured from 50 ft
above the runway threshold to touchdown. In the QRH, the air distance is
fixed at 1,000 ft (305 m) for simplicity.
To prepare AFM data, manufacturers must multiply the landing distance
from the flight test demonstration by
a factor of 1.67 to obtain regulatory
dry landing distance and then must
multiply this dry landing distance by
a factor of 1.15 to obtain the regulatory wet/slippery landing distance. To
prepare QRH data, manufacturers must
use the landing distance from the flight
test demonstration as the distance for
dry braking action. The manufacturer
then typically determines from analytical computation the airplane’s capability
for landing on a wet, snow-covered or
ice-covered runway. “The QRH for the
737-700 provides [landing distances and
corrections at the reference weight] for
braking using ‘max manual’ braking or
an autobrake setting … for each braking
condition,” Smith said.
Training ideally should cover
how the method of brake application
affects airplane deceleration performance relative to use of reverse thrust
and runway braking action. “The
deceleration from reverse thrust is
always additive when using manual
brakes, whether on a dry or a slippery
runway,” Smith said. “Conversely, the
deceleration from reverse thrust may
be additive when using autobrakes,
depending on the autobrake setting
and the [dry or slippery] runway conditions. Reverse thrust becomes the
most effective deceleration device as
runway conditions deteriorate.”
Most importantly, slippery runway
conditions require different — sometimes
counterintuitive — techniques compared
with landing on a dry or wet runway. ●
Notes
1. The Flight Safety Foundation Approachand-Landing Accident Reduction Tool Kit
contains comprehensive briefing notes
about assessing landing distance capability
for contaminated runways and how turbojet landing overruns have occurred.
| 25
LeadersLog
Working With EASA
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority’s Safety Plan complements
the work of the European Aviation Safety Agency.
BY MIKE BELL
T
here has been a radical change in
the way aviation is regulated in
Europe. The European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) was created on Sept. 28, 2003. EASA became
responsible for the airworthiness design
standards of most civil aircraft registered in the European Union.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA) remains very much in business
within its own realm. As a national aviation authority, the CAA’s Safety Regulation Group still has a statutory duty for
all aspects of regulation not covered
by EASA, and is responsible for safety
oversight of the U.K. aviation industry,
as distinguished from EASA’s panEuropean rules and standards. It also has
the strategic goal to develop our worldclass U.K. aviation safety environment,
in partnership with industry, by driving
continuous improvements in aviation
safety in the U.K., and, in partnership
with EASA, across Europe (see ASW,
10/06, p. 46).
The European Union established
EASA with the legal authority to be the
rule-making and standard setting organization for aviation safety regulation on
behalf of all its member states. EASA has
already taken responsibility for aircraft
26 |
Michael J. Bell is a U.K. CAA Board Member
and Group Director Safety Regulation
and product certification, rules related to
the design and maintenance of aircraft
products and parts, and standards for
organizations designing, producing and
maintaining products and parts. Over
time, its rule-making role is expected to
extend to aircraft operations, flight crew
licensing, aerodromes and air traffic
management safety.
To deliver results meeting this
challenging goal, the CAA developed and published its safety plan for
2006/7–2010/11. In producing this plan,
we recognized that there were significant opportunities for more clarity and
transparency — for ourselves and our
stakeholders — about our safety priorities and how we determined them. In essence, we wanted a safety plan that was:
• Essential for safety.
• Defensible, to us and our industry.
• Unique to the CAA.
This strategic view complements the
CAA’s ongoing tactical risk management program, which includes risk
identification during oversight visits
and the assessment of individual mandatory occurrence reports for potential
action.
The Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (MORS) is fundamental to
the CAA’s tactical and strategic management of risk, as these processes are only
as good as the data that guide them.
Established 30 years ago, MORS has
been at the forefront of “just culture”
ideals and heavily influenced the development of the European Directive
on Occurrence Reporting, 2003/42/EC,
which requires such a scheme for all EU
member states. Despite the mandatory
requirement, it is the commitment of the
U.K. aviation industry to the theory and
practice of just culture ideals that makes
the system work so effectively.
The CAA’s latest development of its
strategic risk management framework
is more data driven than ever before,
starting with the analysis of fatal accidents involving large public transport
airplanes worldwide. Figure 1 provides
an overview of the contributing factors
in accidents that occurred between
1995 and 2004, as determined by the
CAA’s Accident Analysis Group. Note
that the categories are not mutually
exclusive.
To identify safety vulnerabilities,
we used multi-disciplinary teams,
considered each of the most prevalent
flight safety foundation | AEROSafetyWorld | February 2007
LeadersLOG
a ccident types and, supported by
the data, worked through potential
contributions from each major element
of the aviation system: aircraft design,
aircraft maintenance, air traffic control,
airport design, and flight operations.
By looking across all sectors, with a
mixture of expertise, we minimized the
potential for overlooking gaps in safety
barriers and also helped knowledge
transfer in our organization.
Inevitably, many more actions
were suggested than were practicable.
Resources in particular are always
limited, and the suggested actions were
subjected to rigorous peer review and
prioritization. Several criteria were used,
including statistical safety risk, perceived
safety risk and likely effectiveness and
efficiency.
European national aviation authorities, in particular, must also use one
other criterion: the regulatory environment. While EASA will, within a couple
of years, very likely take responsibility
for rule-making activity in operations
and licensing, member states retain
responsibility for oversight of that
activity. Therefore, actions have been
prioritized that do not necessarily require rule making or formal regulatory
intervention, but are aimed at supporting the judgment of regulators and
helping industry to improve its own
safety performance.
Did we get it right? Well, we listened
to the safety concerns of U.K. industry
and also matched the risks we identified to other studies, and we seem to be
in the right place. For example, Flight
Safety Foundation lists controlled flight
into terrain, approach and landing, loss
of control, and human factors as the
top four issues requiring attention. All
of these feature in the CAA safety plan,
with flight crew human factors issues
together in a section we’ve called “Supporting Pilot Performance.”
Of course, the CAA is subject to
other influences on its regulatory
Fatal Accidents Worldwide, 1995–2004
Number of Fatal Accidents
Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
115
Post-crash fire
114
101
Loss of control in flight
Undershoot
41
Runway excursion
40
Ground collision with object/obstacle
32
Forced landing — land or water
23
18
Structural failure
Other cause of fatality
17
Emergency evacuation difficulties
12
11
Fire/smoke during operation
Fuel exhaustion
11
Mid-air collision
Ground collision with other aircraft
7
5
Notes: More than one contributing factor can be allocated for each accident.
Includes fixed-wing turbine-powered aeroplanes for a which a variant has MTWA > 12,500 lbs or 5,700
kg (includes business jets).
Source: U.K. CAA Fatal Accident Database
Figure 1
www.flightsafety.org | AEROSafetyWorld | February 2007
s trategy. The U.K. government is,
rightly, demanding that all U.K. regulators perform better in terms of risk
management and use the output to help
determine their work program. The
CAA’s risk management strategy, embodied in the safety plan and described
briefly here, has been fully endorsed by
the U.K. government as good regulatory practice, and we are committed to
developing the model further for the
benefit of U.K. industry.
EASA is developing its own safety
strategy for the areas in which it has
competence, called the European Strategic Safety Initiative (ESSI), and future
U.K. safety plans will contain CAA actions undertaken as part of ESSI, but we
will continue to look to improve safety
performance specifically in the U.K. It
is almost certain that human factors
issues will dominate as we complement
EASA rule making with data driven
oversight and safety improvement, continuing to focus on areas that are not
best addressed by rule making alone.
Success will require closer cooperation
between the CAA and its stakeholders than ever before, facilitated by
industry’s safety management systems.
We have recently laid the foundations
for this as part of preparations for the
development of the next safety plan.
The CAA’s safety plan and commitment to safety improvement clearly
demonstrate that in the new European
environment, the national aviation authority has a key role to play. By aligning
our tactical and strategic activities with
that of EASA, striving for seamless safety
oversight and complementary safety improvement processes, we can and must
help EASA to drive continuous safety
improvement across the continent. ●
Note: You can find a copy of the CAA’s Safety
Regulation Group Safety Plan 2006 at <www.
caa.co.uk/safetyplan>.
| 27
causalfactors
28 |
former chief pilot for the company. The first
officer, 62, had about 19,100 flight hours,
including 17,700 flight hours as PIC and 1,700
flight hours in Gulfstreams. He had been
named chief pilot after the captain retired from
the position in July 2004 to reduce his work
schedule.
Dense Fog
The pilots were scheduled to begin the
positioning flight from Dallas Love Field to
Houston Hobby at 0500 local time, but the
departure was delayed 30 minutes by weather
conditions at both airports. An advisory for
dense fog had been issued for the area. The
terminal forecast for Houston Hobby called
for 1/4 mi (400 m) visibility in fog and 100 ft
vertical visibility.
Cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data indicate that at 0543, the flight crew obtained the
automatic terminal information service (ATIS)
report for Houston Hobby. The ATIS report
said that the winds were calm, visibility was 1/8
mi (200 m) in fog, runway visual range (RVR)
for Runway 04 was variable between 1,600 and
2,400 ft (400 and 800 m), and the ceiling was
broken 100 ft above ground level (AGL).
The first officer briefed the captain on
the ILS approach to Runway 04, which had
published minimums of 244 ft and 1,800 ft
(550 m) RVR. The positioning flight was being conducted under the general operating
rules of Part 91, which does not prohibit pilots
from beginning an instrument approach when
the reported visibility is below the published
minimums.
The report said that the approach briefing
did not adhere to company standard operating procedures (SOPs), which call for the pilot
flying, the captain in this case, to conduct the
briefing. The first officer also omitted two
required briefing items: airplane configuration
and the final approach fix (FAF) altitude.
At the captain’s request, the first officer entered waypoints for the following ILS/localizer
approach fixes into the flight management
system (FMS): CARCO, an intermediate fix
© Mark Wagner/aviation-images.com
A
precision instrument approach that was
flown “outside the stabilized approach
window” ended when the Gulfstream
III struck a light pole and terrain about
3 nm (6 km) from the runway, said the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in its
final report on the Nov. 22, 2004, accident. The
airplane was destroyed, and the pilots and flight
attendant were killed. An occupant of a vehicle
received minor injuries.
NTSB concluded that the probable cause
of the accident was “the flight crew’s failure
to adequately monitor and cross-check the
flight instruments during the approach,” and
that contributing factors were “the flight
crew’s failure to select the instrument landing
system [ILS] frequency in a timely manner
and to adhere to approved company approach
procedures, including the stabilized-approach
criteria.”
The airplane’s ground-proximity warning
system (GPWS) remained silent during the approach, but the investigation did not reveal why
the system failed. The air traffic control (ATC)
minimum safe altitude warning (MSAW) system
generated one warning, but it came too late to
prevent the accident. Nevertheless, the report
said that the MSAW system had “performed as
designed, given the alert thresholds established
for the [Houston] airport area” (see “Tightening
a Safety Net,” page 33).
The accident occurred near William P.
Hobby Airport in Houston, where the crew
was scheduled to pick up former U.S. President
George H.W. Bush and others for a charter
flight to Ecuador. The airplane was operated by
Business Jet Services, an aviation-management
company that conducts on-demand flights
under U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations Part
135. “At the time of the accident, the company
had about 100 employees, including 35 Part
135 pilots, and a fleet of 13 airplanes, seven of
which were Gulfstreams,” the report said.
The captain, 67, had about 19,000 flight
hours, including 15,700 flight hours as pilotin-command (PIC) and 1,000 flight hours
in Gulfstreams. He was a check airman and
causalfactors
Outside
the
Window
The Gulfstream
III was flown below
the glideslope on an
unstabilized approach.
There were no GPWS
warnings, and only one
MSAW warning just
before impact.
BY MARK LACAGNINA
| 29
causalfactors
14.3 nm (26.5 km) from the runway threshold;
ELREN, a stepdown fix for the localizer approach, 7.3 nm (13.5 km) from the threshold;
and EISEN, the FAF, 4.3 nm (8.0 km) from the
threshold. The Hobby VOR (VHF omnidirectional radio), which is on the airport, had previously been entered into the FMS. The report
said that after a brief discussion with the captain
about whether the VOR was required for the approach, the first officer likely deleted it from the
waypoint sequence.
“The MFD [multifunction display] only
displays a chronological number for each
Gulfstream III
© John Padgett/airliners.net
T
he Grumman American — now Gulfstream Aerospace — G‑1159A
Gulfstream III first flew in 1979. Compared with its predecessor,
the Gulfstream II, the airplane has a longer fuselage, more fuel
capacity and a redesigned wing, with extended-chord leading edges
and winglets.
The airplane accommodates two pilots and up to 14 passengers.
Maximum fuel capacity is 28,300 lb (12,837 kg). Maximum takeoff
weight is 69,700 lb (31,616 kg). Maximum landing weight is 58,500 lb
(26,536 kg).
Each of the two Rolls-Royce Spey 511-8 turbofan engines produces
11,400 lb static thrust (50.7 kilonewtons). Maximum cruise speed is
Mach 0.85. Long-range cruise speed is Mach 0.77. Maximum operat‑
ing altitude is 45,000 ft. Range is 4,100 nm (7,593 km). Stall speed at
maximum landing weight is 105 kt.
Production was terminated in 1986, after 202 G‑IIIs were built.
Source: Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft
30 |
approach waypoint; therefore, it is possible
that the flight crew forgot that the first officer
removed the [VOR] waypoint from the FMS,
causing them to mistakenly believe that the last
waypoint displayed on the MFD (EISEN) was
the airport,” the report said. “Regardless, an
FMS serves as a secondary navigation aid on
an ILS approach. The pilots should have been
relying on the primary navigational aids during
the approach.”
Tuned to the VOR
At 0558, the approach controller cleared
the crew to fly directly to CARCO “for the
ILS runway four.” The first officer told the
captain, “I’ll set up our ILS in here, one oh
nine nine.” When the first officer entered
the localizer frequency, 109.9 MHz, into the
navigation receivers, it would have been the
standby frequency until selected as the active
frequency. He neglected to select it as the active frequency and to check the Morse-code
identifier of the active frequency. As a result,
the previously selected Hobby VOR frequency
remained active.
The airplane was 29 nm (54 km) northwest
of the airport at 11,000 ft when the approach
controller told the crew to descend to 3,000 ft.
At 0609, the first officer told the captain that
they were “five miles … from CARCO.” The approach controller then told the crew to turn left
to 070 degrees and to maintain 2,000 ft or above
until established on the localizer.
The airplane was descending through 2,900
ft at 0611 when the first officer said, “Localizer’s
alive” (Figure 1). Neither pilot was aware that
the navigation receivers were still tuned to the
VOR. The captain began a left turn and asked
the first officer to obtain a current RVR report.
The tower controller told the crew that RVR was
1,600 ft.
The captain then told the first officer, “I can’t
get approach mode on my thing.” The first officer
said that he also was unable to select the autopilot/
flight director approach mode. “What [is] wrong
with this?” the first officer asked. The captain said,
“I don’t know. What do we have set wrong?”
causalfactors
Ru
nw
ay
04
Flight Path Relative to Localizer
0614:40/323 ft
FO: “Coming up on two forty-four.”
0614:47/213 ft
End of CVR recording
0614:05/901 ft
CAPT: “Did you change my frequency?”
EISEN
0613:14/1,757 ft
FO: “We’re high on the glideslope now.”
0612:23/2,265 ft
CAPT: “I can’t get approach
mode on my thing.”
ELREN
0611:13/2,824 ft
FO: “Localizer’s alive.”
Flight path
Localizer centerline
1 and 2 dot fly left/right lines
Selected CVR information
CARCO
CAPT = captain CVR = cockpit voice recorder FO = first officer
Times are local.
Source: U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
Figure 1
The report said that the approach mode
could not be selected because the navigation receivers were not tuned to a valid ILS frequency
and were not receiving ILS signals.
Display Confusion
Both pilots likely
misidentified the
airspeed fast/slow
indicators on their
electronic attitude
director indicators
(EADIs) as glideslope
indicators.
When the airplane descended through 2,000 ft
at 0613, it was about 1,000 ft below the glide
slope (Figure 2, page 32). Nevertheless, the
first officer told the captain, “We’re high on
the glideslope now.” Later, while descending
through 1,700 ft, 700 ft below the glideslope, the
first officer said that the airplane was “on the
glideslope now.”
Both pilots likely misidentified the airspeed fast/slow indicators on their electronic
attitude director indicators (EADIs) as glide
slope indicators. “The fast/slow indicator
shows airspeed guidance relative to a target
airspeed,” the report said. “The glideslope and
fast/slow indicators are the same color and
about the same size. Each indicator consists of
a moving pointer on a rectangular display, and
each display has markers above and below the
rectangle to indicate the degree of deviation.”
The fast/slow indicator is displayed continuously. The glideslope indicator is displayed
only when a valid ILS frequency has been
selected as the active frequency in the navigation receiver. “If a valid [ILS] frequency has
not been selected, the side of the screen where
the glideslope indicator should appear remains
blank,” the report said.
According to standards recommended by
the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
glideslope indicators should be displayed on the
right side of electronic instruments, as shown
in Figure 3 (page 32).1 However, the standards
were published in 1987, three years after the
accident airplane was manufactured. The EADIs
in the accident airplane were configured to display the glideslope indicator on the left side.
“Five other company airplanes flown by the
accident pilots were configured with the glideslope indicator on the left,” the report said. “Of
these airplanes, four had fast/slow indicators on
the right side, and one had no indicator on the
right side. Three of the company airplanes flown
by the accident pilots had the glideslope on the
right side.”
‘What Happened?’
The airplane was descending through 1,000
ft at 0614 — about one minute before impact — when the first officer selected the ILS
frequency as the active frequency. The captain
said, “What happened? Did you change my frequency?” The first officer said, “Yeah. … The
VOR frequency was on. We’re all squared away
now. … You got it.”
At this point, the EADIs would have displayed a full-scale deviation below glideslope
and nearly a full-scale deviation left of the
localizer course. The report said that the absence of any comment by either pilot about the
glideslope deviation indicates that they continued to misidentify the fast/slow indicators as the
glideslope indicators.
The captain, in an apparent reference to the
localizer course, said, “I don’t know if I can get
| 31
causalfactors
Flight Path Relative to Glideslope
3,000
Flight path
Glideslope centerline
0611:13/2,824 ft
FO: “Localizer’s alive.”
2,500
Glideslope 1 and 2 dot fly up/down lines
Selected CVR information
0612:23/2,265 ft
CAPT: “I can’t get approach mode on my thing.”
Altitude (feet)
2,000
0613:14/1,757 ft
FO: “We’re high on the glideslope now.”
1,500
1,000
0614:05/901 ft
CAPT: “Did you change my frequency?”
500
0614:40/323 ft
FO: “Coming up on two forty-four.”
CARCO
0
–15
–14
ELREN
–13
–12
–11
–10
–9
–8
EISEN
–7
–6
–5
–4
0614:47/213 ft
End of CVR recording
Runway 04
Light pole
–3
–2
–1
0
Distance from Runway 04 threshold (nautical miles)
CAPT = captain CVR = cockpit voice recorder FO = first officer
Times are local.
Figure 2
Standard EADI
LOC
ATT2
GS
20
F
20
10
10
Fast/slow
indicator
G
10
CMD
M 39
200 DH
10
20
20
DH
1
Glideslope
indicator
Aircraft
symbol
1
back on it in time.” The first officer said, “Yeah,
you will. … You’re squared away now.” The
captain conducted a right turn. The airplane was
beyond EISEN and descending through 900 ft
— 800 ft below the glideslope — when it intercepted the localizer course.
The first officer did not make altitude
callouts or course-deviation callouts required
by company SOPs. “The [pilot monitoring] is
required to call out when the airplane is 1,000,
500, 200 and 100 ft above the DH [decision
height, 200 ft] and when the localizer and
glideslope [indications] deviated one dot or
more,” the report said.
The company’s criteria for a stabilized
approach required that within 500 ft of
touchdown zone elevation, deviations from
the localizer and glideslope must be less than
one dot, and descent rate must be less than
1,000 fpm. “If the airplane is not within these
criteria, the [pilot monitoring] should call out
‘missed approach,’ and a go-around should be
executed,” the report said. “The CVR did not
record either pilot call for a missed approach or
initiate a go-around.”
At 0614:40, the first officer said, “OK, coming up on two forty-four,” the decision altitude.
The captain completed the “Before Landing”
checklist at 0614:42 and told the first officer to
select full flaps.
Beginning at 0614:45, the first officer said
“up” seven times in quick succession. Simultaneously, the tower controller told the crew to
“check your altitude.” The airplane struck the
light pole at 0614:47.
140 FL
No Ground Prox Warnings
Decision
height
display
Localizer
indicator
Radio
altitude
indicator
EADI = electronic attitude director indicator
This display arrangement conforms to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recommended
standards published in 1987. The EADI in the accident airplane, which was built in 1984,
displayed the fast/slow indicator on the right side and the glideslope indicator on the left
side.
Figure 3
32 |
The report said that flight simulations and
bench tests approximating the accident flight
profile indicated that the GPWS should have
generated warnings that the airplane was below
the glideslope and too close to terrain, as well as
aural alerts at radar altitudes of 500 ft, 300 ft and
200 ft.
Maintenance personnel had conducted
a functional check of the GPWS about eight
months before the accident.2 Company pilots
causalfactors
Tightening a Safety Net
T
he Gulfstream III crash was
among 10 controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT) accidents cited
by the U.S. National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) last summer
when it called for improvements to
the minimum safe altitude warning
(MSAW) system (ASW, 9/06, p. 9).
When installed in en route and
terminal facilities, MSAW software
processes air traffic control radar data
to determine if an aircraft is below,
or is predicted to descend below, a
programmed minimum safe altitude.
If so, the system generates an aural
alarm, which typically lasts for about
five seconds, and a visual alarm that
consists of the flashing letters “LA” or
“LowAlt” next to the aircraft’s data
block on the controller’s radar display.
When a controller detects an MSAW
alarm, he or she is required to issue
a safety alert to the flight crew or to
inform the controller who is in radio
contact with the crew.
NTSB found that the controllers
involved in the CFIT accidents in
which safety alerts were not issued
or were issued too late were otherwise conscientious and attentive in
performing their duties but did not
understand how the MSAW system
was configured and operated in
their areas. For example, approach
controllers were not aware that
tower controllers do not receive
aural alarms until aircraft are within a
specific distance — typically 5 nm (9
km) — of the airport. This can create
a critical gap between the time an arriving aircraft is handed off to a tower
controller and the time the controller
begins to receive an aural alarm for
the aircraft.
“Aural alarms are particularly
important in tower facilities because
controller attention must mainly be
focused on aircraft visible through
the windows, rather than on a radar
display, and the aural
alarm is the primary
method used to draw
attention to the radar
display,” NTSB said. Two
of the CFIT accidents illustrate these issues:
On Dec. 17, 2002, an
Airbus A330 descended
prematurely and more
steeply than normal during a localizer approach
to Agana, Guam, in
instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The
accident involved minor
damage but no injuries
to the 115 occupants
when the airplane struck
power lines atop a hill but remained
airborne. A ground-proximity warning system (GPWS) warning then
prompted the crew to conduct a
missed approach. Investigators
found that MSAW alarms had been
generated for more than a minute at
the approach control facility as the
airplane descended from about 1,700
ft to 700 ft. The approach controller
said that she heard the aural alarm
but believed that a second aural
alarm would sound if the situation
was not resolved. Because of the gap
between handoff and generation
of aural alarms, an alarm sounded
in the tower about the same time
the A330 crew told the controller
that they were conducting a missed
approach.
In an Aug. 4, 2005, accident that
was still being investigated at press
time, a Mitsubishi MU‑2B descended
below the glideslope and struck
terrain during an instrument landing system (ILS) approach in nighttime IMC to Centennial Airport near
Denver, Colorado, U.S. The airplane
was about 10 nm (19 km) from the
airport when the approach control-
LOW ALT
XYZ 120
005 16
ler handed off the flight to the tower
controller. MSAW alarms began 65
seconds before impact, but only a
visual alarm appeared on the tower
controller’s radar display until the
airplane was about 5 nm from the
airport. An aural alarm then sounded,
and the tower controller immediately
issued a safety alert to the pilot.
There was no acknowledgement, and
the airplane crashed a few seconds
later, killing the pilot.
Because the system is based on
minimum altitudes for instrument
flight operations, MSAW service is provided to pilots operating under instrument flight rules but is available only
on request to pilots operating under
visual flight rules. The digital terrain
maps used in MSAW data processing
at terminal facilities comprise 2-nm
(4-km) squares, each with an assigned
minimum altitude. “The software
provides alarms when an aircraft is
presently within 500 ft of the depicted
minimum altitude or is predicted
to be within 300 ft of the minimum
altitude within 30 seconds,” NTSB said.
“Different rules are applied to aircraft
known to be executing an instrument
approach procedure, recognizing that
| 33
causalfactors
the flight is intentionally descending
to ground level.”
A problem that has plagued
the system from the start is unwarranted, “nuisance,” alarms. NTSB
said that overexposure to nuisance
alarms causes controllers to assume
that MSAW alarms are invalid and
to “tune them out.” To reduce them,
MSAW software parameters typically
are modified so that alarms are not
generated for aircraft that are flown
below minimum instrument altitudes
during visual approaches. However,
this means that an alarm may not be
generated until an aircraft is substantially below the expected instrument
approach altitude in IMC. This was
the case in the G‑III accident: “The
system provided only 11.5 seconds of
warning before the aircraft struck the
pole, which was not sufficient time for
the controller handling the airplane
to recognize the alarm and warn the
crew,” NTSB said.
Modifying software to apply different alarm parameters for aircraft
on visual approaches and aircraft on
instrument approaches could improve
the effectiveness of the MSAW system
who had recently flown the airplane told inves‑
tigators that the GPWS functioned normally
during preflight tests. The company’s director of
training said that he had received a glideslope
warning while flying below the glideslope dur‑
ing a visual approach.
“The only common failure that could
prevent activation of the GPWS glideslope and
altitude callouts is a radio altimeter failure,” the
report said. “However, a review of Business Jet
Services’ maintenance records and the CVR
transcript found no evidence indicating any
problems with the radio altimeter. The GPWS
unit and the radio altimeter were destroyed
during impact; therefore, [investigators] were
unable to determine why the GPWS did not
operate as expected.”
One Altitude Warning
The MSAW system generated a warning 11.5
seconds before the crash occurred. “The
[tower] controller began issuing a warning
to the flight crew about 7.5 seconds after the
alert activated, which was about three to four
seconds before impact with the light pole,” the
report said.
The FAA told investigators that MSAW
parameters are set so that a “nuisance alarm”
is not generated when an aircraft descends
34 |
while keeping nuisance alarms to a
minimum, NTSB said.
The U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has told NTSB
that it modified some MSAW parameters to improve system accuracy and
reduce nuisance alerts, and was gathering data under a safety alert assessment plan that will help determine
if further changes are necessary. The
FAA said that it also strengthened
requirements for issuing safety alerts
and was developing new computerbased training aids for controllers.
— ML
below the glideslope during a visual approach.
“Because the present MSAW design does not
provide any way to alter system performance to
treat aircraft flying visual approaches different‑
ly from aircraft flying instrument approaches,
aircraft that deviate from instrument approach
limits during IMC [instrument meteorological
conditions] may not generate an MSAW alert
until they are well below the expected instru‑
ment approach altitude,” the report said.
NTSB made no new recommendations
based on the findings of the investigation.
However, the report made reference to recom‑
mendations issued in July 2006 to improve the
effectiveness of the MSAW system (ASW, 9/06,
p. 9). ●
This article is based on U.S. National Transportation Safety
Board Accident Brief NTSB/AAB-06/06, “Crash During
Approach to Landing, Business Jet Services, Ltd., Gulfstream
G-1159A (G-III), N85VT, Houston, Texas, November 22,
2004.” The 27-page report contains illustrations.
Notes
1. U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Advisory
Circular 25‑11, Transport Category Airplane
Electronic Display Systems.
2. The accident occurred before the March 29, 2005,
regulatory deadline for installation of terrain
awareness and warning systems (TAWS) in turbine
airplanes with six or more passenger seats.
HumanFactors
Discipline
as Antidote
by Peter v. Agur Jr.
The importance of procedures and the adherence to procedures cannot be overstated.
E
vent One: While sitting in the forward
passenger seat of a light jet a few years
ago I received a thorough safety briefing
from the copilot as his chief pilot started
the engines … without a checklist. That got my
attention since both pilots knew I was part of a
team of auditors conducting a safety review of
the flight department. The chief pilot advanced
the power levers to taxi just as his copilot
stepped over the center console. Strike two. Finally, the chief pilot began the takeoff roll as his
right-seater tried to discreetly hand his captain
his seat belt. Strike three.
Event Two: A senior executive with direct
responsibility for a major company’s aviation department recently called me. He explained that
one of his staff had flown in the jump seat on a
short relocation leg. The only other people on
| 35
© iStockphoto International
HumanFactors
36 |
board were the crew, including Becky, the flight
attendant. Due to the aircraft’s light weight, its
takeoff and climb performance were especially
impressive. Hand-flying the airplane during a
steep initial climb-out, the captain looked back
at his jump seat passenger and said, “Watch.
It really [ticks] off Becky when I do this.” The
ensuing maneuver could easily be described as
aerobatic.
Event Three: Years ago, I was called in at
the last minute to fly as copilot for a pop-up
charter trip in the company’s E-55 Beech
Baron. My captain was also our company
president and my boss. The customers were
three cattle buyers. With two pilots up front,
one full-sized passenger was crammed into
the kiddie seat in the baggage compartment.
My boss taxied out and started the takeoff.
Although he had been an F-4 pilot flying in
Vietnam, I don’t think he had ever handled
an aircraft with a center of gravity so far to
the rear. Neither had I. The aircraft rapidly
began to oscillate in pitch attitude, the excursions getting more violent with each gyration.
I called for the controls as we hit the zero-g
apex of the next cycle. The aircraft settled
down; the stomach of the passenger on the
kiddie seat didn’t.
These three events are what a friend calls
“stupid pilot tricks,” but to be more specific I’ll
use the term PINC, coined by David Huntzinger, the newly installed
chief of safety at Korean
Air, for Procedural Intentional Non-Compliance.
One of the most frequent
contributors to aircraft
accidents and incidents is
PINCs.
PINCs are not always
committed in the loose manner of the cited examples.
They are often the result of
well-meaning pilots trying
to do their job but willfully
taking risks to achieve what
should be the secondary goal,
“completing the mission.” These pilots lose
sight of their first responsibility: managing
risks to ensure safe outcomes. However, when
your efforts to get there include fudging the
rules, you do raise risks.
PINCs raise risks, and there are a lot of
PINCs happening out there every day. But if
you are in a position to do so, you can take a
straightforward series of steps that are critical to prevent PINCs in your organization:
(1) gain commitment, (2) budget and develop
the resources and (3) ensure performance
management.
Gain Commitment
Everyone says they want safety. But if there
were never a gap between mouth and movement there would be no PINCs. We all learn
early in life about the two sets of rules to live
by: the formal rules — written or stated — and
the “real” rules — those the game is actually
played by. When there is a significant difference between the two, the “real” rules become
the standard. The solution is to establish and
maintain a universal commitment to the formal rules — that is, flight operations manuals,
policies, procedures, etc. That emphasis must
start at the very top of the organization.
If the chief executive officer (CEO) of your
organization is truly committed to safety, your
safety program is set up to succeed. A safetycommitted CEO knows a PINC is grounds for
severe repercussions, whether it is perpetrated
by a technician, a scheduler, a flight crew or a
senior passenger. A safety-committed CEO is
your chief enforcement officer. Anything less
leaves the door open for informal rules and
resultant PINCs.
I’ve only met one executive who deliberately pushed his crews to be unsafe. He raced
offshore powerboats and climbed mountains
for fun, and he allowed his sense of risk management to be totally skewed by his personal
comfort with and affection for adrenalin. The
only way to get through to him was by getting
personal, pointing out that his children were
being put at risk, too. His initial response was
HumanFactors
anger, but in the end his informal rules were
realigned with more traditional policies and
procedures.
The commitment from top management
allows you to expect appropriate behaviors
from passengers and service providers alike.
No PINCs are permitted, period. With that
understanding as a starting point, it becomes
the aviation manager’s responsibility to get the
necessary resources into play.
Budget and Develop Resources
Aviation professionals tend to be highly service-oriented. They naturally push themselves
and their equipment to get the job done, so it
is critically important that their leaders and
managers give them the right resources. If the
service delivery team doesn’t have the right resources, they will stretch the ones they have to
make the customer happy. The results of these
heroic efforts populate accident investigation
files. Even a well meaning crew can be sorely
tempted to commit a PINC rather than disappoint their passengers.
The most important resources are enough
people, time and equipment to do the job. Also
required are the guidelines for using them
— effective policies, standards and procedures.
Those policies, standards and procedures are
critical in ensuring the quality and continuity of
organizational and individual performance, and
the avoidance of PINCs.
Some aviation managers say vague policies
and procedures create the flexibility they need to
get the job done. Wrong! That approach sends a
loud and clear message: safety is a variable, service is an absolute. That sets the stage for people
to push. Lives are lost and hillsides are littered
with aircraft wreckage as a result of crews pushing. Weak policies and procedures send the
wrong message.
On the other hand, standard operating
procedures (SOPs) also must establish clear
guidelines for the use of judgment in a way that
continues to assure safety while being flexible
enough to adjust to unique service needs. Some
aviation managers make a case for absolute
SOPs that leave no wiggle room for judgment.
They are the enforcers, unwilling to take responsibility for using common sense. Overly rigid
guidelines prevent the use of common sense to
get the job done safely.
If you expect your folks to make informed
and collaborative decisions that are biased to the
safe side, it is critical to have a comprehensive
set of operational policies, standards and procedures. Once those are in place, it is up to the
team to perform … top to bottom.
Performance Management
Commitment and resources are the foundation of a safe operation, but it is how they are
applied, how the task is performed, that determines whether the job is done safely or not.
Actual movement must unerringly match the
description.
Since safety starts at the top, your operational managers must not only be the champions of proper performance, they must be
the models. “Do as I say, not as I do” is not an
option.
Even as these mid-level leaders set the
example, operational managers must also
constantly catch people doing things right.
They must routinely praise folks for taking the
time and care to follow and implement proper
procedures. That praise is best given publicly.
In doing this, they are creating a culture of
co-responsibility. Co-responsibility is basic
to effective crew resource management. Each
member is co-responsible for the rest of the
team’s performance. Everyone is a partner
in performance. This applies in ground and
scheduling operations, too.
From a managerial perspective, each PINC
event deserves unique attention and action.
There are a few things to consider:
• A PINC is a deliberate violation of
an established policy, standard or
practice.
• A PINC often raises risks.
• A PINC perpetrator is likely to commit
future PINCs.
| 37
HumanFactors
Crews who
intentionally
deviate from
standard operating
procedures are
almost twice as
likely to commit
additional errors
with consequential
results.
38 |
• If other members of the organization
are aware of a PINC event and they see
no negative consequences, they may correctly assume management does not take
the SOPs seriously. That is a nasty can of
worms you do not want to open.
Therefore, contrary to the old axiom of “praise
publicly and punish privately.” I suggest the
consequences of PINCs should be emphasized;
the floggings should be public. Not only does
this approach provide positive public reinforcement of proper behaviors, it also applies strong
pressure to avoid improper behaviors to prevent
such public embarrassment. The best way not to
get caught doing a PINC? Don’t do the deed.
A recent public flogging is documented in
the records from the Oct. 31, 2006, U.S. National
Transportation Safety Board public meeting on
the final report of the Platinum Jet Challenger
rejected takeoff and runway excursion accident at
Teterboro (New Jersey, U.S.) Airport. Capt. Robert
L. Sumwalt III, NTSB vice chairman, spoke up: “I’d
like to speak as a board member who made a living
for the last 30 years by flying airplanes. Mr. Chairman, you commented earlier that you were somewhat incredulous that a professional crew would
conduct this behavior. Mr. Chairman, I would
submit to you that this was not a professional flight
crew. The behavior exhibited by this crew was not
at all indicative of a professional flight crew. Just
because someone gets paid to fly airplanes does
not mean that they are professional.
“The University of Texas found that crews
who intentionally deviate from standard operating procedures are almost twice as likely to
commit additional errors with consequential
results. In this case we saw where the crew failed
to perform the weight and balance and it manifested itself in an accident.
“I strongly urge the piloting community to
take the job seriously, and for the most part the
piloting community does take it seriously. When
we have an accident like this, not only does the
crew let their passengers down, quite frankly, they
let the entire profession down, and I take that
very personally.
“I would urge the piloting community to
follow procedures. Do it right. Do what you’re
paid to do. But I’d also like to point out that the
operator has a responsibility to establish a safety
culture. In this case we saw that there was a culture of non-compliance. There were widespread
gaps, omissions, procedural deviations. A term I
sometimes use is the ‘normalization of deviance’
where things are deviated from so often that they
become the norm, and this appears to be the
case here, where crews routinely were modifying
— the board calls it modifying, I call it falsifying
— weight and balance documents, just routinely,
apparently.
“So I’d also like to send a message to the
industry — it is vital for the industry to establish, and maintain a safety culture,” Sumwalt
concluded. That is a public flogging!
You may be interested in how the three
examples I cited earlier turned out.
The seatbelt-less chief pilot was put on
probation. He continued to take shortcuts
for several months until he was finally let go.
The rest of the organization took note and
has since become highly professional in its
performance.
Becky’s nemesis has been suspended from
his flying duties. More permanent action is
pending. This pilot’s future is not bright.
Unfortunately, a public flogging is not an
option for the charter company president. Two
years after our incident in the Baron, he was
scud-running a young family from Denver to
Aspen, Colorado. There were no survivors.
PINCs are a disease. Unchecked, they will
infect your entire operation. That infection can
have extreme consequences. Sadly, the price of
PINCs is paid by innocent people. Your antidote
for PINCs is discipline. ●
Peter v. Agur, Jr. is managing director and founder of
The VanAllen Group, a management consulting firm
to business aviation with expertise in safety and security. Agur also is a member of the FSF Corporate
Advisory Committee and the National Business Aviation
Association’s Corporate Aviation Management Committee.
He has an airline transport pilot rating and an MBA. He is
an NBAA Certified Aviation Manager.
strategicissues
Leading a Quest
for Transparency
© F Schussler/PhotoLink /Getty Images, Inc.
By Wayne Rosenkrans
Releasing excerpts from their ICAO audit results,
some civil aviation authorities seek financial/
technical cooperation to correct deficiencies.
T
wo concepts — limiting secrecy and raising public awareness — drive the latest
initiative by the world’s directors general
of civil aviation to accelerate compliance
with eight critical elements of safety oversight
required by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO).1 By the end of 2006,
87 of 189 member countries voluntarily had
granted consent to ICAO to post downloadable
audit excerpts in a publicly accessible table in
the Flight Safety Information Exchange (FSIX)
area of the ICAO Web site.2 All these excerpts
reflect audits dating from 1999–2001 and/or
follow-up missions from 2001–2004; some
states also posted separate comments updating
their status to fall 2006.
In allowing the first public access to excerpts from safety-oversight audits conducted
under ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit
Program (USOAP), the directors general decided that increasing the flow of information is
essential as ICAO and the industry address 12
high-priority focus areas identified in the Global
Aviation Safety Roadmap, their joint strategic
action plan (see ASW, 1/07, p. 28). Releasing
current audit summaries becomes mandatory
March 23, 2008.
Calling this a “milestone of 2006,” Roberto Kobeh González, president of the ICAO
Council, said, “Such transparency and sharing
of information will facilitate cooperation among
states and with aviation stakeholders in correcting safety deficiencies.”
Overcoming strong reservations about audit
results being misconstrued, proponents of the
initiative won support from the majority of
directors general last March in the context of
inadequate progress by some states in correcting
deficiencies identified by USOAP in 1999–2001.
A December 2004 report to the Council of
ICAO said that, in the previous month, the Air
Navigation Commission rejected a proposal to
| 39
strategicissues
publicly identify “36 states which had not made
much progress in resolving the deficiencies
identified during the audits.”
Lawrence Cannon, Canadian minister of
transport, infrastructure and communities, in
a March 2006 speech, acknowledged the past
reluctance of most governments to disclose audit results. “Scrutiny can mean challenges from
outside, and requires time and effort to manage
information and to respond to public issues,”
Cannon said. “But it is also an essential piece
of the puzzle that will lead us to the improved
safety records of the future.”
Consider the Source
Graphs showing
“lack of effective
implementation” of
the critical elements
of safety oversight
as percentages have
been posted for
64 states.
40 |
ICAO schedules mandatory audits for civil aviation authorities (CAAs) on a recurring six-year
cycle, and every audited CAA receives an unabridged “confidential audit final report.” Before
the transparency initiative, a confidentiality
policy prevented nongovernmental organizations and individuals from obtaining audit results from ICAO, except when a state made the
disclosure. Australia, for example, has posted
its entire confidential audit final report from
1999 in a public area of the Web site hosted by
the Australian Department of Transport and
Regional Services.3
In the past, ICAO automatically distributed
by letter a nonconfidential summary version
of each confidential report to the governments
of all other ICAO contracting states. In current
practice, these governments have secure access
via the Internet to any state’s confidential audit
final reports and to ICAO’s Audit Findings and
Differences Database, designed to help states
prioritize their corrective actions, monitor all
states’ updates on corrective actions and report
known differences with ICAO standards and
recommended practices (SARPs).
In the FSIX table, 70 of the 87 states have
posted at least a one-page or two-page executive summary; the remaining 17 have consented
to post excerpts of reports only from ICAO’s
second audit cycle, which follows the newer
comprehensive systems approach.4,5 Summary
reports of audits have been posted for 35 states;
summary reports of follow-up missions have
been posted for 26 states; and graphs showing
“lack of effective implementation” of the critical
elements of safety oversight as percentages have
been posted for 64 states.
At first glance, this information seems to
show the overall safety effectiveness of a state
and to enable state-to-state comparisons. This
impression is reinforced by data expressed to
hundredths of a percent on graphs, but ICAO
requests that users interpret the information
with awareness of its limitations. “Audit followup missions are not audits and are not designed
to evaluate all aspects of a state’s aviation framework or safety oversight system,” ICAO said.
“The graphic representation of the situation in
the state at the time of the audit follow-up mission [is] limited to reflecting the progress made
in implementing the ICAO recommendations
made during the initial audit and does not purport to depict a current comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of a state’s safety oversight
system.”
Updates by States
Variation in how states post excerpts should
decrease by 2008 under ICAO guidelines for the
second cycle of audits based on the comprehensive systems approach. Meanwhile, some states
have posted far more information than most,
providing the complete text of all their summary
reports and/or adding comments to help the
public evaluate their current level of effectiveness. During fall 2006, 16 states — Austria;
China; Comoros; Cuba; Guyana; Hong Kong,
China; Lesotho; Niger; Romania; Singapore;
Switzerland; Tanzania; United Kingdom and
U.K. Overseas Territories; United States; Uruguay; and Zambia — provided one to three
pages of comments on progress made since
their audit or follow-up mission. Typically, these
comments addressed technical details within
subpoints of ICAO audit findings. Some, however, depart from ICAO’s comment template.
For example, Austria said, “The process of
restructuring of the civil aviation authorities
has finally been completed in 2005. Now all
strategicissues
operative tasks regarding issuing and
surveillance of approvals (operators,
maintenance organizations, etc.) are
carried out by Austro Control [which]
is supervised by the Department for
Civil Aviation.”
China said, “Aviation safety has
been improved significantly in China,
with the fatal accident rate per million
flight hours of scheduled services dropping from 1.428 in the 1990s to 0.298
for the past five years. … From 2001 to
2006, General Administration of Civil
Aviation of China (CAAC) headquarters and regional offices employed 518
inspectors who perform safety oversight functions, increasing the number
of technical personnel from 448 in 2001
to 966 in 2006, a 116 percent total increase and more than 20 percent annual
increase, exceeding the 500 [inspectors]
recommended in the audit follow-up in
2001.”
And Switzerland said, “In January
2005, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) was completely reorganized. … In addition to the separation
of policy-making activities from safetyrelated responsibilities, the FOCA has
now introduced … a modern safety
management system, as an integral part
of its management processes … [and]
foresees the introduction of a ‘nonpunitive’ reporting system.”
Recurrent Issues
Content of each state’s excerpts on
FSIX is unique, but shared or recurrent issues are apparent. For example,
excerpts for several states said that
deficiencies had not been corrected
because an organization external to
the CAA — such as the ministry of
transportation, national legislature or
ministry of justice — had not yet approved the relevant laws or regulations
or had not authorized CAA-requested
personnel, training or funds. Use of
ministerial decrees and orders — rather than national laws and the regulations of an autonomous CAA — also
was prevalent as some states attempted
to address audit findings. Numerous
excerpts note problems of delegation of
power to CAAs to enforce regulations
and implement effective inspector
training; and inadequate working conditions and remuneration for technical
professionals. Excerpts for other states
show in recent years similar struggles
to establish basic laws, regulations,
organizations and procedures.
Although some states report
significant differences with SARPs,
ICAO auditors sometimes noted that
standards applied were not necessarily
lower than ICAO’s minimum requirements. Some audits were conducted
while CAAs were undergoing major
transformation — causing corrective
actions to be delayed pending implementation of new regulations or systems. “Paper commitments” to correct
deficiencies — even if ICAO accepted
a detailed action plan — typically were
insufficient to close audit findings unless ICAO’s follow-up mission validated that commitments actually were
fulfilled. Similarly, states’ proposals
to conduct a study of the feasibility of
correcting deficiencies were not accepted as equivalent to really correcting deficiencies.
USOAP audits can seem anachronistic compared with fast-track
oversight improvements in countries
responding to safety recommendations
in the aftermath of a recent aircraft accident. Yet, by studying ICAO’s safety
oversight audit excerpts on FSIX,
safety professionals who are familiar
with an accident’s contributing factors
sometimes will find the same factors
echoing through words written years
earlier by ICAO auditors (see ASW,
1/07, p. 18). ●
Notes
1. The International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) specifically audits
how effectively countries provide the
following critical elements of a safetyoversight system: primary aviation legislation; specific operating regulations; state
civil aviation system and safety oversight
functions; technical personnel qualification
and training; technical guidance, tools and
the provision of safety-critical information;
licensing, certification, authorization and
approval obligations; surveillance obligations; and resolution of safety concerns.
2. The Internet address is <www.icao.int/fsix/
auditrep1.cfm>.
3. The Internet address is <www.dotars.gov.
au/aviation/safety/report/index.aspx>.
4. Regarding each of the 17 states, the Web
site says, “ICAO did not solicit comments
from [this] state, which recently underwent an audit under the comprehensive
systems approach, as the information
contained in the report of the first cycle
of audit is superseded by the more recent
audit [for which] information … will be
disseminated in accordance with a mechanism that has been approved by the ICAO
Council in June 2006 and that is being
implemented.”
5. ICAO. Safety Oversight Manual – Part A,
The Establishment and Management of a
State’s Safety Oversight System. Document
9734. Safety Oversight Audit Manual.
Document 9735. Second editions, 2006.
In 2004, ICAO began to expand safetyoversight audits of states to include safetyrelated provisions in the 2005 editions of
a larger number of ICAO annexes. This
involved adopting the “comprehensive
systems approach,” which uses safety provisions from six annexes as core elements;
minimizes the time interval between audits;
makes all aspects of the auditing process
transparent to states; validates the accuracy
of statements made by states; provides a
restructured safety-oversight audit report;
and increases auditors’ flexibility.
| 41
insight
Comparing the IATA
Operational Safety Audit standard
with the general industry quality
standard, ISO 9001, shows that the
airline standard is stricter.
BY SUSHANT DEB
© IPN Relay/Adobe Stock Photos
T
The IOSA
standard goes
beyond quality
management
into pursuit
of safety.
42 |
Airline Safety Standard
Exceeds ISO 9001
o maintain a safety standard, the first requirement is to have a foundation of quality assurance. In assessing airlines’ most
important quality assurance standard, it
is helpful to review how that standard compares
with another that has been widely accepted and
has been widely used by other industries.
This review will refer to eight quality
management principles (QMPs), derived in
2000 from the International Organization for
Standardization’s ISO 9001,1 by the International
Air Transport Association (IATA) for the IATA
operational safety audit (IOSA) standard.2 ISO
9001 is an approach to continually improving
the quality of products and processes in business
organizations. The IOSA standard is a systematic, explicit and comprehensive approach to
reducing embedded threats to safety in airlines.
We will look at how ISO 9001 QMPs have
been modified and adopted into IOSA standards. In numerous important points, IOSA can
be shown to be more rigorous in quality assurance than ISO 9001.
The eight QMPs derived from ISO 9001 are
listed in Table 1 with examples of their application in IOSA.
Process Approach is described as “the
application and management of activities
and related resources as processes and their
interactions.” Both ISO 90013 and the guidance
material for IOSA4 require identification of the
processes. The management system of the airline operator must be designed with processes
and procedures to ensure an acceptable level
of operational risk or safety, and to ensure that
the system produces desired outcomes, such as
quality service. Having a functioning management system at the top level is a fundamental
requirement by both standards; however, the
IOSA standard goes beyond quality management into pursuit of safety.
System Approach to Management means “being aware of what interrelated processes are in
place as systems contributing to the effectiveness
and efficiency of an organization.” The system
approach mandates reviews conducted regularly
by the top management. ISO 90015 and IOSA6
address this very similarly, in that the organization must have a management review process to
ensure continued suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. There is not much difference between
these two standards.
insight
Factual Approach to Decision Making is
“analyzing data and information to improve
organizational performance.” For effective decision making, organizations must collect data
and information and document these in some
order for performing data analysis. ISO 9001
details the documentation requirements and
data analysis for decision making.7 The IOSA
standard is explicit and equally emphatic about
document requirements in all eight sections.8
Indeed, documentation and subsequent data
analysis can help an airline manage planning
and implementation of its safety initiatives.
Leadership involves establishing “unity of
purpose and direction of the organization.”
Leadership, commitment and active involvement of the top management are essential for
developing and maintaining an effective and
efficient safety program. The Organization
and Management System section of the IOSA
standard focuses on leadership, just as ISO 9001
does. However, the IOSA standard takes this
more seriously, with the leadership theme mandated in seven of its eight sections.9
Involvement of People entails “preparation and deployment of people at all levels of
an organization.” The airline business, by its
nature, is a labor-intensive service industry.
Thus, having employees with appropriate
“preparation” is one of the most important
elements of airline safety program success.
And there are other reasons for an emphasis on
“preparation and deployment of people,” such
as mandated training program requirements
by civil aviation authorities; the need for safety
personnel at all levels; the need for recurrent
airline safety training; and the need to mitigate
situations created by turnover — for example,
turnover among young pilots and maintenance
personnel. This QMP is mandated by ISO 9001
in two clauses only,10 while the IOSA standard
aggressively mandates this requirement in
seven of eight sections.11 Some of the common
considerations among these IOSA clauses are
establishing urgency; demanding performance
standards and directions; setting and following
the rules of behavior and making sure everyone
is aware of those; setting and enforcing performance tasks and goals; challenging groups
regularly with fresh information that is relevant
to safety issues; and exploiting the power of
positive feedback. The IOSA standard is clearly
stronger.
The Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship
QMP provides for “coordinating, communicating
and cooperating with suppliers to achieve organizational objectives.” To be successful in today’s
business environment, the airline must establish
partnerships with both internal and external suppliers. A mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of all three parties to create value in
ensuring safety, quality and customer service.
For external suppliers, the organization
identifies key suppliers and establishes jointly
a clear understanding of operational safety and
quality requirements. The relationship becomes
more critical when an airline outsources many
processes such as maintenance, ground handling,
etc. For outsourced processes, ISO 9001 requires
identification of control over such processes.12
The IOSA standard is more stringent, requiring
the operator to ensure effective safety and quality
oversight over such processes.13 Furthermore, the
ISO 9001 Quality Management Principles Applied to IOSA
QMP
IOSA Example
Process approach
Flight operations; dispatching; ground handling;
and processes and their interaction
System approach to
management
Maximizing aviation safety; improving aviation
quality service
Factual approach to
decision making
Meeting aviation safety objectives and key aviation
quality service indicators
Leadership
Establishing aviation safety management objectives
Involvement of people
Ongoing currency training; exams and certifications
for safety
Mutually beneficial
supplier relationship
Improving aviation operational safety products, food
services, fuel services and quality services
Customer focus
Safety assurance; minimum service expectations
Continual improvement
Flight operational quality assurance; internal audits;
SWOT analysis; customer satisfaction surveys
IATA = International Air Transport Association IOSA = IATA operational safety audit QMP = quality management principle SWOT = Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats
Source: Sushant Deb
Table 1
| 43
responsibility for the competent control
of these functions must remain with the
operating organization. And here is the
real “punch” in the IOSA standard that
ISO 9001 fails to mandate:
• It is unacceptable for operators
to rely entirely upon the internal
controls of a subcontracted organization to meet this requirement of
controlling outsourced processes.
• Compliance with regulatory requirements or certification from
an external body such as ISO
9001 does not lessen or alleviate
the burden of responsibility for
safety and quality, which always
remains with the airline.
Customer Focus is concerned with
“understanding and meeting customer
needs to enhance their satisfaction
levels.” In the airline industry, with so
much human contact between personnel and customers, the IOSA standard
adopts this principle by focusing on
employee skill levels in contact — e.g.,
cabin crew — and non-contact — e.g.,
maintenance and dispatching — categories.14 On all counts, the IOSA
standard is much more comprehensive
than the ISO 9001.15
Continual Improvement follows
this guideline: “By being continually
introspective of strengths and weakness
of the existing situation, an organization can identify ways to improve
processes on an ongoing basis.” ISO
9001 addresses this,16 as does the IOSA
standard, which introduces a common
theme called “quality assurance.”17
The objective is to institute an internal
evaluation program to address all safety
(and quality) critical issues.
Both ISO 9001 and IOSA, then, are
based on the eight QMPs. But IOSA
scores higher than ISO 9001 in having
44 |
the QMPs envelop operational safety
and quality in the continuing improvement process.
Another example of the IOSA
standard exceeding ISO 9001 is seen in
how the importance of documentation
is treated by these two standards. Both
IOSA and ISO 9001 use the term “shall”
to emphasize the mandatory nature of
documentation. However, there is a
significant difference between the ISO
“shall” and the IOSA “shall”:
derstand/qmp.html>. The latest version of
the ISO standards is officially titled ISO
9001:2000, which for concision will be
referred to here as ISO 9001.
2. International Air Transport Association
(IATA). IOSA Standards Manual, 1st edition, April 2003. Montreal and Geneva:
IATA.
6. ORG 1.7.1.
7. Clauses 4.1, 4.2 and 8.4.
8. ORG 2.0, Flight Operations (FLT) 1.4,
Operational Control and Dispatch
(DSP) 2.0, Aircraft Engineering and
Maintenance (MNT) 2.0, Cabin
Operations (CAB) 3.0, Aircraft Ground
Handling (GRH) 2.0, Cargo Operations
(CGO) 2.0 and Operational Security
(SEC) 2.0.
•
Dr. Sushant Deb is a quality management specialist who has provided ISO 9001 & AS 9100
auditing, consulting and training services since
1995, after a 20-year career in academia. He
also provides IOSA gap analysis and internal
auditing services to the aviation industry. He
has logged over 1,400 audit days. Dr. Deb has
conducted seminars and workshops in many
countries during the past 30 years and published
more than 120 articles and research papers.
He is an independent member of Flight Safety
Foundation and American Society for Quality.
He can be reached at <iosa4flightsafety@yahoo.
com>.
standards and certification, see
<www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/un-
5. Clause 5.6.
The ISO does not specify the implementation as mandatory, as the IOSA
does.
Airlines should be happy to note
that IOSA’s adoption of ISO QMPs,
with their embedded quality concepts,
makes IOSA the best safety assurance
standard. IOSA can be an important
resource in the never-ending drive for
operational safety. Organization for Standardization (ISO)
eight quality management principles, see
4. Organization and Management section
(ORG).
• The IOSA “shall” is a broader
requirement to “document and
implement” a process.
1. For an overview of the International
dex.html>. For a list and description of the
3. Clause 4.1.
• The ISO “shall” means a requirement to “document” a process.
Notes
<www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/in-
9. ORG 1.0, FLT 1.0, DSP 1.0, MNT 1.0,
GRH 1.0, CGO 1.0 and SEC 1.0 reinforce
this repeatedly.
10. Clauses 6.2.1 and 6.2.2.
11. FLT 3.0, DSP 4.0, MNT 6.0, CAB 2.0,
GRH 4.0, CGO 4.0 and SEC 4.0.
12. Clause 4.1.
13. ORG 1.2.1.
14. The customer-contact category is addressed
in CAB 2.3, 3.4, 3.7 and 3.8 and GRH
1.1 and 10.1. The customer-noncontact
category is addressed in GRH 8.0 and 13.0,
CAB 4.0 and 5.0, MNT 6.0, DSP 4.0 and
6.0, FLT 3.0, and ORG 3.0 and 5.0.
15. Clauses 5.2, 7.2 and 8.2.1.
16. Clauses 7.2.3, 8.2.1, 8.2.2, 8.4, 8.5.2 and
8.5.3.
17. ORG 4.0, DSP 3.0, MNT 5.0, GRH 3.0,
CGO 3.0 and SEC 3.0.
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| 45
FLIGHTOPS
Heavy Lifting?
Australian pilots say that when
flying small and medium-size
airplanes, an RNAV (GNSS)
approach means a heavy workload.
BY LINDA WERFELMAN
M
any pilots perceive their workloads
as heavier and their losses of situational awareness as more frequent
when they use area navigation global
navigation satellite system — RNAV (GNSS)
— approach procedures than when they use
most other instrument approach procedures,
a report by the Australian Transport Safety
Bureau (ATSB) says (see “RNAV (GNSS) Approaches”; Figure 1, page 48).1
The report, based on questionnaire responses
from nearly 750 Australian pilots, said that,
overall, the pilots believed that among instrument
approaches, only nondirectional beacon (NDB)
approaches involved similarly heavy workloads
and reduced situational awareness levels.
One group of pilots, however, had a different
opinion. Pilots of “Category C”2 aircraft with
faster threshold-crossing speeds and increased
automation — predominantly high-capacity
46 |
jet airliners, defined in Australian regulations
as those certified as having maximum seating capacity of more than 38 seats or maximum payload of more than 4,200 kg (9,259 lb)
— typically said that RNAV (GNSS) approaches
were more difficult than only daytime visual
approaches and instrument landing system (ILS)
approaches. These pilots also reported fewer
problems with situational awareness on RNAV
(GNSS) approaches, saying that they had lost
situational awareness less frequently while using
RNAV (GNSS) approaches than while using
most other approaches. ILS approaches and
daytime visual approaches were associated with
fewer situational awareness problems, they said.
The report cited several likely explanations
for the divergent opinions:
Firstly, the Category C pilots mostly conducted RNAV (GNSS) approaches using
autopilots and have more sophisticated
FLIGHTOPS
Mark Wagner/aviation-images.com
autopilot systems and vertical navigation
(VNAV) capabilities not available to the
slower and less-complex aircraft. Secondly,
… pilots [of high-capacity airliners] mostly
conducted RNAV (GNSS) approaches inside
controlled airspace, while Category A and
B2 aircraft [slower and less-complex aircraft]
mostly operated RNAV (GNSS) approaches
outside controlled airspace, where the latter
increased workload levels during an approach. More detailed approach briefings
and company approach procedures in high
capacity airlines probably also contribute to
the differences.
“Workload” was defined by the report as
the number of mental and physical tasks that a
pilot must perform, the complexity of the tasks
and the time available for their completion.
Researchers have found that increases in pilot
workload typically result in decreased pilot performance, especially in cognitive matters.
The report said that although RNAV (GNSS)
approaches — originally known as global satellite system nonprecision approaches — have
become common in Australia since their introduction in 1998, they have been the subject of
relatively little research, especially outside the
realm of high-capacity airlines.
The ATSB, however, has investigated two fatal
accidents that occurred in recent years while pilots
were conducting RNAV (GNSS) approaches. In
the first accident, which the ATSB categorized as
a controlled flight into terrain accident, the pilot
and all five passengers in a Piper PA-31 Cheyenne
were killed when the airplane crashed during an
RNAV (GNSS) approach to Benalla Aerodrome in
Victoria on July 28, 2004. The final accident report
said that the pilot “commenced the approach at
RNAV (GNSS) Approaches
A
n area navigation global navigation
satellite system — RNAV (GNSS)
— approach is a nonprecision
instrument approach procedure that
provides pilots with lateral guidance to a
runway. This type of approach procedure
was designed in the late 1990s.
An RNAV (GNSS) uses “waypoints”
— locations with specific latitude and
longitude positions that are programmed into a global positioning
system (GPS) receiver or flight management system (FMS).
In Australia, most RNAV (GNSS)
approaches include five waypoints,
each with a five-letter name. Within an
approach, the first four letters of the
waypoint names are the same, representing the three-letter airport identifier,
followed by the direction from which the
aircraft travels during the final approach.
The fifth letter identifies which waypoint
the aircraft is approaching, and the final
four waypoints contain standard fifth letters — “I” for intermediate fix, “F” for final
approach fix, “M” for missed approach
point, and “H” for holding point when a
missed approach is conducted.
To conduct an RNAV (GNSS) approach, pilots must select a preprogrammed approach in the GPS
receiver or FMS and select one of several
Descent commences
in accordance
with approach
chart instructions
Initial approach
fix (IAF) waypoint
Intermediate approach
fix (IF) waypoint
initial approach fixes (IAFs). The GPS or
FMS then provides navigation guidance
to the IAF, and a course deviation indicator on the GPS unit or on the instrument
panel displays navigation error.
A 1996 decision by the Australian
government and the aviation industry
calls for RNAV (GNSS) approaches to be
designed with waypoint distances of 5
nm (9 km) whenever possible. Standards
established by the International Civil
Aviation Organization call for descent
paths of no more than 3.5 degrees
for larger aircraft and 3.77 degrees for
smaller aircraft.
— LW
Track to the
holding waypoint
Missed approach
point (MAP) waypoint
Final approach
fix (FAF) waypoint
Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau
| 47
FLIGHTOPS
other approaches
included in the surHigh 7
vey,” the report said.
Category A and B
“However, … pilots
Category C
[of the high-capacity
6
airliners] differed, and
assessed the RNAV
5
(GNSS) approach
[as] safer than most
4
approaches, with
the exception of the
3
ILS and visual (day)
approaches. [These]
2
pilots indicated that
automation, and vertiLow 1
cal navigation funcRNAV
Visual Day Visual Night
NDB
ILS
VOR/DME DME Arrival
(GNSS)
tions in particular,
Approach type
increased safety.”
DME = distance-measuring equipment NDB = nondirectional beacon ILS = instrument landing system
The pilots
RNAV (GNSS) = area navigation (global navigation satellite system) VOR = VHF omnidirectional radio
expressed concerns
“Category A” pilots are those who fly predominantly single-engine and small twin-engine airplanes. “Category B” pilots fly
about several aspects
larger twin-engine propeller airplanes. “Category C” pilots fly larger, faster, more automated airplanes, predominantly jet
airliners.
of the design of RNAV
Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau
(GNSS) approaches,
especially the absence
Figure 1
of a reference for disan incorrect location” and was “not aware that the
tance to the missed approach point on the global
aircraft had diverged from the intended track.”3
positioning system (GPS) or flight management
In the second accident, two pilots and 13
system (FMS) display throughout the approach.
passengers were killed when a Fairchild IndusIn addition, they considered the limited distance
tries SA227-DC Metro 23 crashed during an
references on approach charts to be inadequate,
RNAV (GNSS) approach to Lockhart River on
the report said.
May 7, 2005. The investigation was continuing,
“This response was common from respondents
and an interim accident report said that items
in all types of aircraft categories and was listed as
under review included “the design and chart
affecting all areas of this survey,” the report said. “It
Overall, the pilots
presentation of RNAV (GNSS) approaches.”4
was one of the most common issues influencing
said that they
The research from which the ATSB’s RNAV
mental workload, approach chart interpretability
(GNSS) report was developed was intended to
and perceived safety; influenced physical workload
considered an RNAV
enhance understanding of “the experiences and
and time pressure assessments; and [was] the most
perceptions
of
RNAV
(GNSS)
approaches
in
common aspect of the approach that trainees took
(GNSS) approach as
Australia” from the pilots who use them. For
the longest to learn. The inclusion of distance to
this report, the responses of the pilots — each
the missed approach point throughout the ap“safer than an NDB
of whom had an RNAV (GNSS) endorsement
proach on the cockpit display and approach chart
approach, [and]
— were analyzed.
was also the most common improvement sugOverall, the pilots said that they considered
gested by respondents.”
equivalent to a visual
an RNAV (GNSS) approach as “safer than an
The report said that 21.5 percent of RNAV
NDB approach, equivalent to a visual approach
(GNSS) approaches in Australia had “short and
approach at night.”
at night, but perceived it as less safe than all
irregular segment distances, and/or multiple
Average workload during the approach
Pilot Characterization of Workload During Various Approach Procedures
48 |
FLIGHTOPS
minimum segment altitude steps”
— characteristics that were identified
by the pilots as a major concern.
These characteristics were cited as
“the most common reason pilots experience time pressures and were one of the
most commonly mentioned contributors
to mental workload, physical workload,
lack of approach chart interpretability
and perceived lack of safety.”
Pilots from all categories said that
RNAV (GNSS) approach charts were
more difficult to interpret than charts for
other approaches, the report said. The
number of approaches conducted per
year had no effect on the reported ease of
chart interpretation. Among the reasons
for the difficulty was the depiction of
waypoint names with five capital letters
and “only the final letter differing to identify each segment of the approach,” the report said. This not only resulted in clutter
on charts and on GPS and FMS displays
but also increased the chances that a pilot
would misinterpret a waypoint.
The pilots also said that the time
and effort required to prepare for an
RNAV (GNSS) approach exceeded the
time and effort required for all other
types of approaches.
Of all external conditions that
might complicate the conduct of an
RNAV (GNSS) approach, the most
common was late notice of an air traffic
control clearance to conduct the approach, the report said.
In evaluating their training in
RNAV (GNSS) approaches, 86 percent
of respondents said that their endorsement training had been adequate;
the most frequent complaint cited by
the other 14 percent was insufficient
approach practice. Flight instructors
said that the most frequent problem
affecting their trainees was difficulty
maintaining situational awareness,
which the report said was “often related
to becoming confused about which
segment they were in and how far away
they were from the runway threshold.”
Forty-nine pilots — one in 15 — reported involvement in an event associated with an RNAV (GNSS) approach.
The most frequent event, reported by 15
pilots, was a premature descent caused
by misinterpretation of the aircraft’s position. In addition, three pilots said that
they had misinterpreted the aircraft’s
position but discovered the error before
descending, four pilots said that they
had descended below the constantangle approach path and/or minimum
segment steps, and five pilots reported
other losses of situational awareness.
The pilots also cited attributes of
RNAV (GNSS) approaches that they
believed increased safety; the most
frequently cited — by 30 percent of the
pilots — was the runway alignment of
RNAV (GNSS) approaches.
As a result of the study, the ATSB issued several recommendations intended
to enhance the safety of RNAV (GNSS)
approaches. Recommendations were issued to Airservices Australia calling for:
• “A study to determine whether
the presentation of information,
including distance information,
on RNAV (GNSS) approach
charts is presented in the most
effective way;
• “A review of the 21.5 percent of
approaches with segment lengths
different from the 5 nm [9 km]
optimum and/or multiple steps to
determine whether some further
improvements could be achieved;
• “A review of waypoint-naming
conventions for the purpose of
improving readability and contributing to situational awareness;
and,
• “A review of training for air traffic
control officers for the purpose
of ensuring clearances for RNAV
(GNSS) approaches are granted
in a timely manner.” A similar
recommendation to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia
(CASA) called for a review of pilot
training to help ensure timely issuance of RNAV (GNSS) clearances.
ATSB also recommended that CASA
conduct further research “to better
understand factors affecting pilot workload and situational awareness during
the RNAV (GNSS) approach.” ●
Notes
1. Godley, Stuart T. Perceived Pilot Workload
and Safety of RNAV (GNSS) Approaches.
Report no. 20050342. Australian Transport
Safety Bureau (ATSB). December 2006.
2. The survey categorized four groups of
respondents:
• 145 Category A respondents flew
airplanes with target threshold speeds
of up to 90 kt, such as the Beechcraft
36 and 76, Pilatus PC-12, Cessna 182
and 210 and Piper PA-30;
• 271 Category B respondents flew
airplanes with target threshold speeds of
91 to 120 kt, such as the Fairchild SA227
Metro, de Havilland Dash 8, various
King Air models and the Saab 340;
• 231 Category C respondents flew
airplanes with target threshold speeds of
121 to 140 kt, such as the Boeing 737 and
other high-capacity jet airliners; and,
• 42 Category H respondents flew
helicopters. The relatively small number of responses “did not allow for
reliable statistical analysis” within this
category, the report said.
• 58 respondents did not specify an
aircraft type.
3. ATSB. Aviation Safety Investigation
Report — Final. No. 200402797.
4. ATSB. Aviation Safety Investigation
Report — Interim Factual. No. 200501977.
| 49
auditreview
A
fter the FSF Audit Team completes a safety audit, it submits
a final report to the client that
details the observations, findings and recommendations identified
during the review. Observations are
the client’s policies, procedures and
practices that exceed the industry best
practices. Findings identify areas in
which the Audit Team would like to see
improvements to parallel industry best
standards. Recommendations describe
actions that could be taken by the client
to meet industry best standards.
This article, the last in a series, will
focus on the FSF Audit Team recommendations from 20 audits to correct
were not well defined in the maintenance directives in nine audits, or 45
percent.
Although not mandatory for U.S.
Federal Aviation Regulations Part 91
operators, it is prudent to establish a
formal procedure to conduct a second
inspection of critical maintenance
tasks. A second inspection is commonly
referred to as required inspection items,
“a second set of eyes” or follow-up
review. Its purpose is to confirm that
work has been properly completed with
an entry in the maintenance records/
task card. Part 91 operators should
identify the critical maintenance tasks
on each aircraft type and publish an
There was no inventory control system
or shelf life monitoring in the stockroom
in eight audits, or 40
percent.
Part 91 does not
mandate a parts and
materials inventory control system
or shelf life control
program, but it is
prudent to incorporate these programs in
day-to-day operations
to ensure that parts
and materials are
Audit Findings and Recommendations:
the most frequent findings (ASW, 9/06,
p. 46) related to aircraft maintenance,
aircraft configuration, airport facilities
and security.
Aircraft Maintenance
Maintenance management was not
properly safeguarding aircraft master
logs in case of fire, flood or other natural disasters in 10 audits, 50 percent of
the total.
The accepted industry best practice
is to provide fire-resistant storage and
security cabinets for these vital documents. The aircraft and engine master
logs should be secured in the special
storage cabinets any time the maintenance personnel are not in their hangar
office facility and whenever the aviation
personnel leave the building. Some
operators have chosen to have these
records scanned into digital media and
stored off-site.
Maintenance inspection and quality control policies and procedures
50 |
inspection requirement in their maintenance procedures documentation.
Technician maintenance actions
and servicing were not properly signed
off in the maintenance records in nine
audits, or 45 percent.
The Audit Team maintenance specialists have observed that corrective
action entries in the aircraft maintenance logs are incomplete or improper.
“Will monitor,” “Check on subsequent flight,” “Being worked by OEM
customer service,” etc. are not proper
corrective action entries without
documentation that a functional check
of the system or component found it to
be operating within prescribed limits
or tolerances. The recommended
action is for a supervisor to conduct quality assurance reviews of all
maintenance records for proper entries
prior to filing. Improperly completed
records should be reviewed with maintenance technicians to improve the
quality of record keeping.
serviceable and readily available when
needed. A parts and materials inventory is an essential safeguard against
bogus parts.
Aircraft Configuration
The aircraft weight and balance management system was not in accordance
with U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular 120-27E,
Aircraft Weight and Balance Control, in
11 audits, or 55 percent.
Many Part 91 operators have not
focused on the fact that the advisory
circular is applicable to all classes of
operators. One of the more critical
facets of the latest revision is the use
of higher crew and passenger weights,
which could significantly affect loading
and center of gravity control calculations. All operators should develop an
appropriate management system that
ensures that the aircraft basic operating
weight is properly tracked and changes
are provided to the flight crews and
flight safety foundation | AEroSafetyWorld | FEBRuary 2007
auditreview
Security
last round
By Darol Holsman
installed in the flight management
system. All pilots and maintenance
technicians must be trained on the requirements of the weight-and-balance
management system.
Passenger safety briefing cards
were not installed or did not reflect an
accurate location of safety and emergency equipment in nine audits, or 45
percent.
Many operators have adopted
generic passenger safety briefing cards
provided by the aircraft manufacturer
even though they have added additional emergency equipment such as
an automatic external defibrillator, or
even modified the cabin configuration.
It is vital that the passenger briefing
card accurately depict and describe
the location and use of each item of
passenger safety equipment in case
there is an emergency and crewmember assistance is unavailable. The
importance of an accurate passenger
safety briefing card is further
www.flightsafety.org | AeroSafetyWorld | february 2007
magnified when no trained flight attendant is assigned to the flight.
Airport Facilities
Workplace safety standards in the hangar and shops were not in accordance
with U.S. Occupational Safety and
Health Administration/Environmental
Protection Agency (OSHA/EPA) or
National Safety Council standards in 11
audits, or 55 percent.
Although OSHA and EPA seldom
conduct on-site inspections at a Part 91
operator’s work site, every operator is
required to meet these requirements.
The FSF Audit Team often finds that
the operator’s parent company has
OSHA/EPA expertise on its staff, but
the aviation department has not taken
advantage of this resource to help
ensure that its facilities are in compliance. All operators should conduct
quarterly facility inspections and establish a tracking system to implement
corrections.
Current security policies did not address
aircraft security at contract maintenance
facilities in 11 audits, or 55 percent.
The FSF Audit Team recommends
that the contract maintenance vendor
work-scope agreement with the operator
define the security procedures the vendor
will follow during the off-site visit. While
most operators send a technician with
their aircraft to a contract maintenance
facility, it is impossible for that representative to be on-site all the time during the
visit. The Audit Team recommends that
hatches and doors not to be disturbed
during a visit be sealed with security
tape. The flight crew should conduct a
comprehensive security inspection before
departing from the maintenance facility.
The facility security program was
inadequate for door access control or
video monitoring of entrances and hangar doors in nine audits, or 45 percent.
The majority of operators have significantly increased their facility security
measures following Sept. 11, 2001. The
most common deficiency is the lack of a
double-door vestibule at the primary entrance, thus requiring visitors to be out
in the weather while waiting for access.
Installation of a video monitor system
that allows visitors to be clearly viewed
before they are allowed entry is an essential security measure. The Audit Team
recommends magnetic strip–controlled
security doors leading from the office
area to the hangar and the aircraft. ●
This article extends the discussion of the aviation
department problems most frequently found
by the FSF Audit Team, based on the final
reports submitted to clients that contracted for
operational safety audits during 2004, detailing
the observations, findings and recommendations
identified during the review (ASW, 9/06, p. 46).
The recommendations cited in this story are the
opinions of the FSF Audit Team.
| 51
DataLink
Behavior Modification
Alcohol-related disruptive passenger behavior aboard U.K. airlines continues
to decrease, but smoking-related incidents hold steady.
BY RICK DARBY
D
Most disruptive
behavior involving
alcohol abuse did not
occur because
of drinks served
aboard the aircraft.
52 |
ata for reported disruptive behavior
aboard U.K. airlines from April 2005
through March 2006 indicate that alcohol intoxication continued to decline as
a contributing cause.1 Alcohol was identified or
suspected as a factor in 35 percent of incidents,
a decline from 45 percent in the April 2001–
March 2002 reporting period (Table 1).
Most disruptive behavior involving alcohol
abuse did not occur because of drinks served
aboard the aircraft, however. In the latest reporting period, 90 of 479 incidents (8 percent) were
categorized as resulting from airline service.
Consumption before boarding was implicated in
a larger number of incidents in every reporting
period.
Smoking-related incidents appear stubbornly resistant to reduction. Smoking or wanting
to smoke featured in 40 percent of incidents, of
which 83 percent involved lighting up in the aircraft lavatory. There was little percentage change
in smoking incidents in the five yearly periods
shown in Table 1.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority classifies
disruptive passenger behavior incidents by severity — as “serious” or “significant” — according to their threat to flight and personal safety.2
The number of serious incidents, 56, increased
from 53 in the 2004–2005 reporting period,
and the rate increased. There was one serious
incident per 16,000 flights, compared with one
per 17,000 flights in the previous reporting
period, a 6 percent increase. The rate had been
as low as one serious incident per 27,000 flights
in the 2002–2003 reporting period.
“Some 80 percent of incidents involved male
passengers, similar to previous years,” the report
said. “The data indicate that the predominant
age group involved in disruptive passenger
incidents [was] those in their 20s and 30s, and
this follows the trend of previous years.” About
a fourth of incidents involved people traveling
alone, a figure similar to those in previous years,
the report said. The number of incidents involving 10 or more people traveling together was 29
in the 2005–2006 reporting period, compared
with 22 the previous year.
“The majority of cases reported could be
described as general disruptiveness, with verbal
abuse either to cabin crew or other passengers
occurring in 40 percent of cases,” the report
said. In about a fourth of all incidents, passengers disobeyed airline crewmember instructions.
Violence was perpetrated in 142 of the total
1,359 reported incidents (more than 10 percent), with violence against crewmembers in 64
reported incidents (less than 5 percent).
“In the majority of incidents, a warning was
given to the offending passenger, and the evidence
from the reports suggests that the warning was
DataLink
Disruptive Passenger Behavior Incidents Aboard U.K. Airliners, 2001–2006
April 2001–
March 2002
Total incident reports
April 2002–
March 2003
April 2003–
March 2004
April 2004–
March 2005
April 2005–
March 2006
1,055
648
696
1,486
1,359
Serious
Significant
52
528
35
613
28
668
53
1,433
56
1,303
Other
475
—
—
—
—
18,000
27,000
24,000
17,000
16,000
1.8
2.7
2.9
2.1
2.0
101
90
106
183
142
49
48
46
79
64
Severity
Rate
Flights per serious incident
Passengers carried per serious incident (millions)
Incident details
Violence involved
Violence toward crewmembers involved
Contributing factors
Alcohol involved
Alcohol — pre-boarding
Alcohol — served by airline
Alcohol — passenger’s own
Smoking involved
Smoking in lavatory
472
(45%)
271
(42%)
198
92
182
121
63
88
385
(36%)
260
(40%)
306
221
290
(42%)
530
(36%)
479
(35%)
151
95
154
118
90
171
275
(40%)
562
(38%)
546
(40%)
226
430
455
85
66
85
Notes: The U.K. CAA abolished the “other” category beginning in June 2001, which resulted in an artificially large decrease in total incidents between the
2001–2002 reporting period and the following period. Some incidents that would previously have been classified as “other” are now classified as “significant,”
so comparisons involving the 2001–2002 reporting period may not be accurate. The criteria for classifying “serious” incidents have remained unchanged
throughout the five years.
In incidents where alcohol was involved, the subcategories do not sum to the totals because the source of the alcohol often was not known or not reported.
Serious incident is defined as “one which actually threatens flight safety or personal safety, or has the potential to do so if the situation escalates.”
Significant incident is defined as “one which causes concern but which does not cause a major threat to the safety of the aircraft or its occupants.”
Source: U.K. Department for Transport
Table 1
effective in 35 percent of cases, but ineffective in 31 percent of cases,” the report
said. The result of the warning was not reported in the remainder of the incidents.
In 16 incidents, a passenger had to
be physically restrained by handcuffs or
a strap, and in an additional 18 incidents
some other form of restraint was applied.
The flight crew decided to make an
unscheduled landing in eight incidents,
compared with five in the 2004–2005 reporting period and four in the 2003–2004
period. There were 10 incidents in which
flight crew abandoned taxiing or takeoff
procedures and returned to the gate. In
136 incidents, passengers were removed
from the aircraft.
All disruptive passenger behavior
has potential safety consequences and
must be taken seriously, but the report
said that incidents should be seen in
perspective. In the 2005–2006 reporting period, U.K. airlines operated
about 900,000 flights and carried about
114 million passengers. Only one in 2
million passengers caused a serious incident, the report said. It added, however,
that the exposure of cabin crewmembers
to passenger misbehavior was substantially higher than for passengers. ●
Notes
1. U.K. Department for Transport.
“Disruptive Behaviour on Board UK
Aircraft — 2004/05.” Available via the
Internet at <www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/
groups/dft_aviation/documents/page/
dft_aviation_613654-01.hcsp>.
2. The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
defines a significant incident as “one which
causes concern but which does not cause a
major threat to the safety of the aircraft or
its occupants.”
The CAA defines a serious incident as “one
which actually threatens flight safety or
personal safety, or has the potential to do
so if the situation escalates.”
| 53
InfoScan
Piloting From the Ground
Human factors play an important role in the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles.
BOOKS
Human Factors of Remotely Operated Vehicles
Cooke, Nancy J.; Pringle, Heather L.; Pedersen, Harry K.; Connor,
Olena (editors). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier JAI Press, 2006.
412 pp. Figures, tables, references, index.
R
emotely operated vehicles (ROVs) include
the category of unmanned aircraft systems, also called unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs). In her preface, co-editor Nancy J.
Cooke notes that the original term UAV could
give rise to the mistaken belief among the public
that no humans are involved or that their involvement is peripheral or insignificant.
“The fallacy is that the automation replaces
the human; no humans — no need for human factors,” she says. “However, over 30 years of research
has shown that automation indeed changes the
human’s task, but not always in a positive manner
… . The human’s task simply changes from one of
control to one of oversight. Many mishaps are attributed to the human being ‘out of the loop.’”
The book offers a look at human factors
challenges associated with ROVs and the research and development work that is addressing
them. The first chapter is based on two presentations of the Human Factors of UAVs Workshop sponsored by the Cognitive Engineering
Research Institute, comprising UAV developers,
operators and researchers. Subsequent chapters look at UAV human factors issues from
the perspectives of the operator, scientists and
managers of national airspace systems. A section
discusses “Errors, Mishaps and Accidents” from
a human factors viewpoint, with a chapter on
54 |
spatial disorientation of the operator as a factor
in some errors.
Further sections examine the ROV-operator
interface and control of multiple ROVs through
modeling, design and intelligent automation.
The issue of how many ROVs a single operator
can control is “highly controversial,” Cooke says.
Other sections focus on team control of ROVs
and ROVs on the ground.
“Taken together, this work represents the
state of the art in our understanding of the human considerations associated with the operation of ROVs,” Cooke says. “When viewed as
systems, these human considerations go beyond
the interface to vehicle control and extend to
the tasks of sensor operation, command and
control, navigation, communication, timesensitive targeting and mission planning.
Further, they extend to applications for training
ROV operators, operator selection, integration
into the national airspace and design of technologies to improve remote operation.”
The chapter “UAV Operators, Other
Airspace Users and Regulators” will be of
particular interest to readers in the aviation
safety field. The authors, Stephen B. Hottman
and Kari Sortland, say, “From the [U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration’s] perspective, a UAV
is an aircraft. The operator of a UAV is some
type of ‘pilot’ who will need to be certified as
having the knowledge base that is determined
to be necessary and/or appropriate and who is
also proficient and skilled.” That proficiency
and skill will depend in part on human factors
research.
InfoScan
REPORTS
Child Restraint in Australian Commercial Aircraft
Gibson, Tom; Thai, Kim; Lumley, Michael. Australian Transport Safety
Bureau (ATSB). B2004/0241. February 2006. 86 pp. Figures, tables,
photographs, glossary, references, appendixes. Available via the
Internet at <www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2006/crs_final.aspx>
or from ATSB.*
I
nfants under the age of two are not required
to occupy a seat of their own on commercial
airline flights in Australia, but all passengers
must be restrained during taxi, takeoff, landing
and turbulence. Child restraint systems (CRSs)
designed for automobile seats are typically used
to meet the requirement for restraint of infants.
ATSB commissioned a study of 20 CRS
models installed in a typical aircraft seat according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
“Fourteen of the CRS models had difficulty
fitting within the available space or could not be
adequately installed due to interference with the
aircraft seat lap-belt latch,” says the report. “Additionally, one required a top leather strap (not
normally available in commercial aircraft) to be
used in the installation.”
The remaining CRSs adequately restrained
an infant dummy during a turbulence test
that produced 1 g of vertical acceleration. In a
dynamic sled test, 11 CRS models restrained
the infant dummies in every case, but the CRSs
themselves exhibited significant forward motion, rotation and rebound motion.
The report concludes that the use of CRSs
by young children and infants in Australian
aviation should be encouraged. To improve their
effectiveness, a number of actions are suggested
— for example, “An approval system should be
established to ensure that any Australian automotive CRS to be used in aircraft fits the aircraft
seat and is compatible with the aircraft lap belt.”
Aircraft Accidents and Incidents Associated With
Visual Disturbances From Bright Lights During
Nighttime Flight Operations
Nakagawara, Van B.; Montgomery, Ron W.; Wood, Kathryn J. U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine.
DOT/FAA/AM-06/28. Final report. November 2006. 9 pp. Figures,
table, references. Available via the Internet at <www.faa.gov/library/
reports> or from the National Technical Information Service.**
O
ne of the remarkable properties of the human eye is its ability to adapt to different
light intensities, from brilliant sunlight to
nighttime darkness. Yet that accommodation
does not take place instantly, as anyone knows
who turns out the last light at bedtime and is
temporarily nearly sightless. When a pilot’s eyes
are adapted to a low light level, typical of the
flight deck at night, exposure to a sudden bright
light can result in temporary visual impairment because of glare, flashblindness — a visual
interference effect that persists after the source
of illumination is extinguished — and afterimages. This, in turn, degrades reaction times in
response to a visual stimulus.
This report describes an FAA study to investigate operational problems experienced by pilots
exposed to bright light during nighttime operations. FAA and U.S. National Transportation Safety
Board databases were searched for accident and
incident records from January 1982 through February 2005 that included the term “night,” as well
as keywords such as “glare,” “bright light,” “flash”
and “blind.” A total of 58 discrete accidents and
incidents were found that identified exposure to
bright light during nighttime operations as a factor.
The majority of accidents, 17 of 30, or 57
percent, occurred during the approach and
landing phase of flight. Accidents in other phases of flight, in descending order of frequency,
occurred during taxi, en route, and takeoff and
departure. Incidents occurred most frequently
during taxi, followed by approach and landing,
takeoff and departure, and en route.
“Flight crewmembers were more susceptible
to night vision problems during the approach
and landing phases of flight, possibly due to
prolonged exposure to low-light levels prior to
being illuminated by airport lighting systems or
other bright light sources,” the report says. “In
the texts of these reports, pilots commented that
they lost the ability to judge distances (depth
perception) after experiencing glare or from being flashblinded by approach or runway lights.”
Taxiing aircraft were involved in the second
largest numbers of night-vision impairment
accidents, six, and incidents, 21.
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InfoScan
“Ineffective lighting configurations in the
airport environment appear to be a root cause
of these visual difficulties while taxiing,” the
report says. “The majority of these [occurrences] involved pilots who strayed off ramps,
taxiways and runways, hitting obstacles or
other aircraft due to the effect of glare and/or
flashblindness. In several of these mishaps,
the pilots reported that inappropriate or
poorly positioned ramp or apron lighting
hampered their ability to distinguish runway
markings or determine exactly where the taxi
surface began or ended.”
The report says that the researchers conducted a similar search of the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) reports
submitted from 1988 through November 2004
for reports of night vision problems resulting in
unsafe conditions. Those reports are anonymous
and subjective, and do not represent the findings of any accident investigation.
“The ASRS database contained 153 reports
where night vision problems resulted in unsafe
conditions,” the report said. “Fifty-nine percent
of these events occurred during taxiing operations, while 27 percent involved approach and
landing maneuvers.”
The report said that, although it was not
the primary cause of the accident, air traffic
control personnel were hampered by glare
from airport lighting in the runway collision
between USAir Flight 1493 and Skywest
Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport in February 1991, which resulted in 34
fatalities.
The report concludes with recommendations to pilots for reducing the risk of accidents caused by bright light during nighttime,
such as:
• “Keep one eye shut should you look in the
direction of a bright light source to maintain dark adaptation in at least one eye.”
• “Use the glare shield (sun visor), bill of a
cap or other opaque objects to shield your
eyes from harsh ramp lighting.”
56 |
• “To avoid flashblinding other pilots, dim
aircraft landing lights as soon as safety
concerns allow.”
WEB SITES
National Aerospace FOD Prevention Inc. (NAFPI),
<www.nafpi.com>
N
AFPI, comprising members from the aviation and aerospace industries — including
airlines, airports, manufacturers, support
organizations and the military — says, “We are
committed to a common goal: to educate, create
awareness and promote FOD (foreign object
debris/damage) prevention in all aspects of
aerospace operations and manufacture.”
Its mission is to “be a resource for information, training and support, and to provide an
effective forum for the exchange of ideas, solutions and expertise.” NAFPI’s educational library
supports the mission with online resources:
• The “FOD Prevention Guideline” addresses general workmanship practices,
standard terminology, control methods,
design considerations, operational environments, reporting, and investigation for
ground and flight safety.
• Presentations from the past eight national FOD prevention conferences and
a lengthy report of the inaugural selfinspection summit provide the equivalent of an instruction manual on FOD
issues — what it is; practical information
InfoScan
on ways organizations prevent it; how
to design and implement prevention
programs; procedures and controls to
mitigate risk; and related topics.
Information is free and can be printed or downloaded to the user’s computer. Files are large and
contain colorful Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, with figures, tables and photographs of
FOD examples and related equipment.
Also on the Web site is the NAFPI member
directory, listing contact information for its
extensive network of people from Argentina to
Zimbabwe who are “FOD focal points” in their
organizations.
European Regions Airline Association (ERA),
<www.eraa.org>
E
RA identifies itself as a member-supported
organization that “represents the interests
of organizations involved in intra-European
air transport.” Nevertheless, its Web site has information for members and nonmembers alike.
The publications section links to several
documents, handbooks and magazines produced
by ERA. The “Emergency Planning Handbook”
serves as a model for organizations with existing
emergency and crisis plans, or can be used as a
guide in establishing such plans. The handbook
addresses responsibilities, training, staffing, security, threat assessment, contingency plans, media
relations, accident and incident reporting and
investigation, and related topics. The handbook is
available to nonmembers for a fee.
Two featured magazines are Fly Safely and
Regional International.
• Fly Safely, ERA’s flight safety e-journal, is
described as providing “authoritative information on a wide range of safety issues
that affect the regional aviation industry.
It is suitable for crewmembers, airline
and airport employees, and management
alike.” Access is free.
• The monthly journal, Regional International, summarizes technological and
regulatory information for senior management at airlines, airports, manufacturers
and support services. The current issue is
available in full text and color at no charge.
ERA’s Air Safety Work Group provides safetytargeted awareness reports, called STARS, in full
text. STARS offer generic guidelines for pilots
and operators on topics such as landing overruns, crosswind landing limits and just culture.
Some reports are supported by information that
has appeared in Fly Safely. The STARS introductory page suggests uses such as reproducing the
guidelines in an organization’s own safety or
operational publications. Nonmembers can read
the STARS at no cost although they are accessed
via the “Membership Center” menu. ●
Sources
*Australian Transport Safety Bureau
P.O. Box 967, Civic Square
ACT 2608
Australia
Internet: <www.atsb.gov.au>
** National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161 U.S.A.
Internet: <www.ntis.gov>
— Rick Darby and Patricia Setze
| 57
OnRecord
Residual Deicing Fluid
Freezes, Jams Elevator
The BAe 146 flight crew used the manual trim system to regain control
and land the airplane.
BY MARK LACAGNINA
The following information provides an awareness of problems in the hope that they can be
avoided in the future. The information is based
on final reports on aircraft accidents and incidents by official investigative authorities.
JETS
Pitch Oscillations Occur on Departure
British Aerospace BAe146-300. No damage. No injuries.
A
fter departing from Frankfurt, Germany, for
a cargo flight to Stuttgart on March 12, 2005,
the flight crew noticed a slow pitch oscillation that increased in amplitude as the airplane
climbed on autopilot from Flight Level (FL) 80
(approximately 8,000 ft) to FL 100. “The oscillation resulted in a positive angle-of-attack of up to
18 degrees and in a rate of descent of up to 4,500
fpm,” said the report by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU).
The report said that the elevator had been
jammed by ice that formed when residue from
the deicing/anti-icing fluid applied to the
airplane before departure rehydrated and froze
during climb. The crew disengaged the autopilot
and regained control of the airplane with the
manual elevator trim system.
“A prolonged flight [at] FL 130 under visual
meteorological conditions and free of icing con58 |
ditions did not change the control problems they
experienced with the airplane,” the report said.
The crew used the manual elevator trim system
while conducting an instrument landing system
(ILS) approach and landing at Stuttgart Airport.
“The airplane was examined immediately
after the landing, and significant amounts of
frozen and swollen-up deicing fluid residues
were found in the gap between elevator and
horizontal stabilizer, and in the area of ailerons
and rudder,” the report said.
A deicing/anti-icing fluid “thickened” with a
polymer to increase adhesion time had been applied to the airplane before takeoff. The report
noted that the polymer in Type II, Type III and
Type IV deicing/anti-icing fluids can remain
as a residue in areas of the airplane that are not
exposed to airflow after the water and glycol in
the fluid have dried. “The polymer residue is
very hygroscopic — that is, it can absorb from
the surrounding air a multiple of its own weight
in water (rehydration) — and thus become a
gel-like mass,” the report said. “Depending on
the ambient air temperature, this oversaturated
gel freezes [and] can restrict control-surface
movements.” This is particularly hazardous for
airplanes with nonpowered flight controls (see
“Chilling Effects,” Aviation Safety World, September 2006, page 26).
OnRecord
Among BFU recommendations generated by
the incident investigation was that civil aviation authorities ensure that “nonthickened”
Type I deicing/anti-icing fluid, which contains
a relatively small amount of polymer, is available at European airports used by airplanes with
nonpowered flight controls. The report said that
only one-third of European airports had Type I
fluid in stock.
Crew Surprised by Vehicles on Runway
Boeing 737-86N. No damage. No injuries.
W
hile preparing to depart from Manchester (England) Airport with 190
passengers for a charter flight to Kos,
Greece, on July 16, 2003, the flight crew selected
a reduced-thrust setting for a planned takeoff
using the full length of Runway 06L. The crew
was not aware that because of work in progress
to remove rubber deposits on the departure
end of the runway, available takeoff length had
decreased from 3,048 m (10,000 ft) to 1,927 m
(6,322 ft), said the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report.
The crew’s performance calculations were
correct for a reduced-thrust takeoff using the
full runway length, but the aircraft was 9,000 kg
(19,841 lb) too heavy to meet reduced-thrust
takeoff-performance requirements using the
decreased runway length, the report said.
Although the crew was aware that work was
being performed on the runway, they believed
that the work was being performed at the far
end of the runway and would not affect their
takeoff calculations. Information on the workin-progress and the decreased length of the
runway had been disseminated by a notice to
airmen (NOTAM) and the automatic terminal
information service (ATIS). However, the report
said that the crew did not read the NOTAM or
copy the runway information included in the
ATIS broadcast.
After being told by the tower controller to
“line up and wait zero six left,” the crew told
the controller that they would begin the takeoff
from an intersection. The controller said that
1,670 m (5,479 ft) of runway were available from
the intersection. Although this information
provided another opportunity to become aware
of the decreased runway length, the crew either
missed or misinterpreted the information, the
report said.
Seven vehicles were on the runway, but
the crew could not see them when the takeoff
was begun because the runway is higher in the
middle than at the ends. “As the aircraft passed
the crest of the runway, the flight crew became
aware of vehicles at its far end; but, as they were
now close to their rotation speed, they continued and carried out a normal takeoff,” the report
said. “The aircraft passed within 56 ft [17 m] of
a 14-ft [4-m] vehicle.”
The crew told investigators that although
they were surprised to see the vehicles, they
believed that they had cleared them with a sufficient margin and that reporting the incident
was not necessary. The incident was reported
eight days later by the airport’s air traffic control
(ATC) manager and classified as a serious incident by the AAIB. The report said that among
actions taken in response to the incident was
a decision by the airport operator to prohibit
takeoffs and landings from being conducted
toward a closed section of runway with work in
progress.
The crew was not
aware that because
of work in progress
to remove rubber
deposits on the
departure end of the
runway, available
takeoff length had
decreased.
Lightning Damages Hydraulic Lines
Fokker F28 100. Substantial damage. No injuries.
T
he aircraft was on a charter flight to Darwin,
Northern Territory, Australia, from Kupang,
Indonesia, with five crewmembers and 14
passengers on Dec. 17, 2005. ATC told the flight
crew to hold about 50 nm (93 km) south of
Darwin because of thunderstorms at the airport.
“The crew reported that while holding in instrument meteorological conditions at approximately 16,000 ft above ground level and between 6
and 8 nm [11 and 15 km] from any storm cells,
the aircraft was struck by lightning,” said the
Australian Transport Safety Bureau report.
About 20 minutes after the lightning strike,
the no. 2 hydraulic system low-quantity warning
light illuminated, and the crew observed that
the hydraulic fluid level in the no. 1 system was
| 59
OnRecord
decreasing. The crew requested and received
clearance to exit the holding pattern and fly
directly to the airport.
The no. 1 hydraulic system low-quantity
warning light illuminated when the crew extended the landing gear and flaps on final approach.
“The landing was continued, and the aircraft was
able to be taxied to the gate,” the report said.
Investigators found that electrical arcing
during the lightning strike had damaged two
hydraulic fluid return lines to the elevatorboost unit. “The examination also found at
least two strike holes to the forward- and midsection of the aircraft fuselage,” the report said.
“There were approximately 90 other strike-related damage zones along the underside of the
fuselage, landing gear doors and on the trailing
edges of the wings and tailplane. During subsequent scheduled maintenance, further melting
damage was found to the elevator flight control
cables.”
The crew did not brief the ILS approach
or conduct the “Descent” and “Approach”
checklists. The report said that the approach
was flown at high speed and with the aircraft
improperly configured. The crew continued the
approach to 400 ft AGL, which was 200 ft lower
than the minimum height prescribed by the
operator for a circling approach. The aircraft’s
groundspeed was 265 kt when the crew gained
visual contact with the runway and decided to
conduct a missed approach. About the same
time, the terrain awareness and warning system
(TAWS) generated a “TOO LOW, TERRAIN”
warning. After climbing to 4,000 ft and holding
at the NDB, the crew conducted another ILS approach and landed without further incident.
The report noted that according to International Civil Aviation Organization standards,
this serious incident would be classified as “controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) only marginally
avoided.”
Crew Loses Situational Awareness
TURBOPROPS
Boeing 737-800. No damage. No injuries.
D
uring a flight from London to Ireland
West Airport in Knock, Ireland, on March
23, 2006, the flight crew programmed
the flight management computer (FMC) for
the NDB (nondirectional beacon) approach to
Runway 09. Surface winds at Knock were from
110 degrees at 15 kt, visibility was about 4,000
m (2.5 mi), and the ceiling was broken between
800 and 1,000 ft above ground level (AGL), said
the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit report.
Nearing the destination, the crew was told
that the NDB approach was not available. They
decided to conduct the ILS approach to Runway
27 and circle to land on Runway 09. The crew
was cleared to fly directly to ELPEN, a newly
established waypoint about 19 nm (35 km) east
of the airport, on the extended centerline of
Runway 27. The report said that ELPEN was not
in the FMC database, and both pilots, who were
relatively inexperienced in the 737-800, became
“so engrossed in trying to reprogram the FMC
that they both lost their critical situational
awareness for a time.”
60 |
Route Deviation Into a Box Canyon
CASA 212-CC. Destroyed. Six fatalities.
T
he civilian flight crew was conducting a
contract charter flight in Afghanistan for
the U.S. Department of Defense, carrying
mortar rounds and three military passengers
from Bagram Air Base to Shindand on Nov. 27,
2004. A company maintenance technician also
was aboard the airplane.
Shindand is west of Bagram, but company
pilots typically flew about 32 nm (59 km) south
after departure, to avoid mountains, before
proceeding directly to Shindand, said the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
report. The accident crew, however, departed to
the northwest at about 0738 local time, climbed
to 10,000 ft and turned west into an unfamiliar
valley. “We’ll just have to see where this leads,”
the captain said. “With this good visibility … it’s
as easy as pie. [If] you run into something big,
you just parallel it until you find a way through.”
The report noted that both pilots had substantial mountain-flying experience. At 0803,
OnRecord
the captain told the first officer, “It’s about time
we’re going to start climbing. … We’re coming up to a box up here.” About 0819, a stall
warning was recorded by the cockpit voice
recorder (CVR). The captain said that he would
make a 180-degree turn and told the first officer to “drop a quarter flaps.” The first officer
said, “Yeah, let’s turn around.” The CVR then
recorded a stall warning that continued until the
recording ended about 0820.
The report said that the operator’s flightlocating procedures were inadequate. Searchand-rescue operations were begun at 1540 and
initially focused on the standard route south of
Bagram. The wreckage of the unpressurized airplane was found at 0815 the next day at 14,650 ft
— about 350 ft below the top of a snow-covered
ridge line. The report noted that the floor of the
valley was about 11,000 ft in the area. The investigation determined that one of the military
passengers had survived the impact but died at
least eight hours later from his injuries, which
were complicated by hypoxia and hypothermia.
NTSB said that the probable causes of the
accident were “the captain’s inappropriate decision to fly a nonstandard route and his failure to
maintain adequate terrain clearance.”
Loading, Ice Cited in Control Loss
Cessna 208B Caravan. Destroyed. One fatality.
T
he aircraft, which was equipped with an
external cargo pod, was 488 lb (221 kg)
over maximum weight for flight in icing
conditions when it departed from Winnipeg
(Manitoba, Canada) International Airport at
0537 local time Oct. 6, 2005, for a cargo flight to
Thunder Bay, Ontario, said the Transportation
Safety Board of Canada (TSB) report.
The aircraft entered icing conditions soon
after takeoff. The aircraft flight manual recommends a minimum airspeed of 120 kt during
climb in icing conditions, but ATC radar data
indicated that the accident aircraft’s airspeed
decreased from 100 kt to about 90 kt and that
its rate of climb steadily decreased. The aircraft
reached a maximum altitude of 2,400 ft and
began to descend at an average rate of 400 fpm.
The pilot requested an immediate return to
Winnipeg.
The report said that insufficient information was available to determine whether a wing
stall or a tailplane stall led to the pilot’s loss of
control of the aircraft, which was in an inverted,
steep nose-down and left-wing-low attitude
when it crashed and burned on railway tracks in
Winnipeg at 0543. The engine was developing
significant power on impact, and investigators
found no deicing system anomalies.
Among recommendations based on the
findings of the investigation, TSB said that the
Canadian Department of Transport and the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration should prohibit
208-series Cessnas from being flown “in forecast
or in actual icing meteorological conditions
exceeding ‘light’ until the airworthiness of the
aircraft to operate in such conditions is demonstrated.” The report noted that the aircraft currently are certified for flight in moderate icing
conditions when properly equipped.
Insufficient
information
was available to
determine whether
a wing stall or a
tailplane stall led
to the pilot’s loss of
control of the aircraft.
‘I Am a Bit Low Here’
Cessna 425 Conquest 1. Destroyed. Four fatalities.
N
ighttime instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at Centennial Airport near
Englewood, Colorado, U.S., on Aug. 13,
2005, when the pilot received vectors from ATC
to the localizer course for the ILS approach to
Runway 35R. The airplane was inbound on a
private flight from Sandpoint, Idaho, the NTSB
report said. The pilot, 62, had 5,000 flight hours,
including more than 1,400 flight hours in type.
Visibility was 2 mi (3,200 m) in rain, and
the ceiling was at 500 ft AGL. Decision altitude
for the ILS approach is 6,083 ft, and touchdown zone elevation is 5,883 ft. The airplane
was about 500 ft above the glideslope when it
crossed the outer marker. Recorded radar data
indicated that the airplane’s flight path then
deviated from the glideslope and localizer.
The tower controller observed a minimum
safe altitude warning (MSAW) system warning when the airplane was at 6,800 ft, with
a groundspeed of 170 kt, on final approach.
The controller told the pilot, “I am getting a
| 61
OnRecord
low-altitude alert on you.” The pilot replied,
“Yeah, I am a bit low here.” The airplane was at
7,200 ft with a groundspeed of 150 kt about 20
seconds later when the pilot said, “I’m back on
glideslope.”
The airplane was at 6,500 ft about 24 seconds later when the controller issued another
low-altitude warning, but there was no response
from the pilot. The airplane struck hilly terrain at 6,120 ft about 2.6 nm (4.8 km) from the
runway.
“The pilot did not hold a valid medical certificate at the time of the accident, and a postaccident toxicological test revealed the presence
of unreported prescription medications,” the
report said. “No anomalies were noted with the
airframe and engines.” NTSB said that the probable cause of the CFIT accident was “the pilot’s
failure to properly execute the published instrument approach procedure.”
PISTON AIRPLANES
Wing Separates in Thunderstorm
Piper Aerostar 602P. Destroyed. Two fatalities.
T
he pilot telephoned an automated flight
service station (AFSS) the morning of May
10, 2006, to obtain a weather briefing for a
business flight from Cornelia, Georgia, U.S., to
Mobile, Alabama. The AFSS specialist said that
a significant meteorological advisory (SIGMET)
was in effect for an embedded line of thunderstorms with tops between 41,000 ft and 50,000 ft
along the route from Atlanta to Mobile.
“The specialist suggested that the pilot not
depart immediately because of the weather but
said that it might be possible to land at an intermediate stop ahead of the weather, possibility in
the Pensacola[, Florida] area or further north in
the Crestview[, Florida] area, wait for the storms
to pass and then continue the flight to Mobile,”
the report said. The pilot filed an instrument
flight rules (IFR) flight plan to Pensacola, requesting a cruise altitude of 16,000 ft.
The pilot telephoned the AFSS again a few
minutes later to obtain an IFR clearance with a
void time. The specialist placed the pilot’s call
62 |
on hold while he coordinated the clearance
with ATC. “When he returned to the inbound
telephone line to provide the pilot with the
requested IFR clearance, the pilot was no longer
on the line,” the report said.
The pilot departed under visual flight rules
and obtained an IFR clearance from the Atlanta
Air Route Traffic Control Center. The center
controllers broadcast a center weather advisory and SIGMET information about a line of
thunderstorms 40 nm (74 km) wide with tops
at 44,000 ft moving from 280 degrees at 35 kt.
However, the report said that the controllers
did not tell the Aerostar pilot about intense-toextreme precipitation echoes displayed on their
radar screens.
The airplane was at 16,000 ft when the
pilot reported that he was reversing course.
Radio and radar contact with the airplane were
lost soon thereafter. The report said that the
airplane was in a vertical nose-down attitude
when it struck terrain near Camp Hill, Alabama.
“Examination of the wreckage revealed that the
right wing separated 9 ft 2 in [2.8 m] outboard
of the wing root,” the report said. “The separated outboard section of the right wing was not
recovered.”
Engine Fails During Go-Around
Cessna 402C. Destroyed. One serious injury.
R
eported weather conditions included 1/4-mi
(400-m) visibility and a 100-ft ceiling when
the pilot began an ILS approach to Mather
(California, U.S.) Airport during a cargo flight
the night of Jan. 23, 2003. The pilot told investigators that he initiated a missed approach because
of the weather conditions, but when he attempted
to increase power, the left engine failed.
The pilot activated the fuel-boost pump for
the left engine but did not retract the landing
gear or flaps. “Without the airplane configured
correctly for the single-engine missed approach,
the net climb performance would be negative
400 fpm,” the NTSB report said. The airplane
struck a utility pole and trees, then descended to
the ground, where it collided with a chain link
fence before stopping on a road.
OnRecord
Investigators were unable to determine why
the engine failed. NTSB said that the probable
causes of the accident were the engine failure
and the pilot’s “failure to correctly configure the
airplane for a single-engine missed approach”
and that a factor was the pilot’s “decision to initiate the approach when the weather conditions
were below the published approach minimums.”
HELICOPTERS
Corrosion Blamed for Engine Failure
Hughes 369D. Substantial damage. No injuries.
A
fter completing a power-line-inspection
flight on Oct. 4, 2005, the pilot landed the
helicopter on a farm field near Lundsbrunn,
Sweden, to visit an acquaintance. After a brief
visit, the pilot departed for the return flight to the
operator’s temporary base at Skövde.
“After a climbing hover, which was completely normal, the pilot accelerated the helicopter forward while climbing,” said the Swedish
Accident Investigation Board (SHK) report.
“When the helicopter reached approximately 30
kt of forward speed and at a height of 5–10 m
[16–33 ft] above ground level, a loud bang was
heard, and the engine suddenly stopped.” The
helicopter descended to the ground and rolled
onto its left side. The cabin remained intact, and
the pilot was not injured.
A tear-down examination of the Rolls-Royce
— formerly Allison — 250-C20B engine revealed
major damage to the compressor blades and guide
vanes. “In addition, extensive resultant damage
could be seen in the direction of flow,” the report
said. Metallurgical examination showed that the
compressor failure began with a fatigue fracture
at a third-stage blade root. “Closer examination
under an electron microscope revealed a small
corrosion mark there and at other locations close
to the blade roots,” the report said.
The engine manufacturer told investigators
that fatigue cracks caused by corrosion damage
in the second and third compressor stages have
been found in 80 engines. “This would amount
to a frequency of one event per million flying
hours,” the report said.
The operator had conducted compressor
washes every 100 hours. However, the report
noted that the engine manufacturer recommends daily compressor washes for engines
operated in “corrosive environments.” Based on
the findings of the accident investigation, SHK
recommended that the Swedish Civil Aviation
Authority “inform operators using this type of
engine of the risk of blade corrosion and the
importance of regularly washing the compressor in accordance with the manufacturer’s
recommendations.”
Fatigue Causes Stabilizer Failure
Bell 206B JetRanger. Destroyed. Two fatalities.
A
bout 45 minutes after departing for a
pipeline-inspection flight between Cumbernauld, Scotland, and Aberdeen on Dec.
21, 2005, the helicopter entered an uncontrolled
descent to the ground, killing the pilot and observer. “The investigation found that the vertical
stabilizer had detached from the tail boom and
struck the tail rotor,” said the AAIB report. “This
subsequently caused the tail rotor and associated
gearbox to become detached from the tail boom.”
The report said that the fatigue fractures of
the forward and aft vertical stabilizer supports
likely had resulted from insufficient torque applied to the four bolts that attach the supports to
a mounting platform on the tail rotor gearbox.
The vertical stabilizer had been removed temporarily to facilitate repair of fuselage corrosion
during the summer of 2005.
Visual inspections of the supports are required every 100 hours. A 100-hour inspection
of the accident helicopter had been scheduled
after the pipeline-inspection flight. If the
supports had not failed during the flight, the
inspection likely would have revealed that they
were extensively cracked, the report said.
Based on the findings of the investigation,
AAIB recommended that the European Aviation
Safety Agency and the civil aviation authorities
in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United
States require that the vertical stabilizers on Bell
and Agusta-Bell 206-series helicopters be removed for inspection of the stabilizer supports. ●
| 63
OnRecord
Preliminary Reports
Date
Location
Aircraft Type
Aircraft Damage
Injuries
Dec. 1, 2006
San Diego, California, U.S.
Learjet 36
substantial
3 none
The Learjet was on a public-use flight from North Island Naval Air Station and was being flown in formation with another airplane. While
conducting a cross-under maneuver, the pilot lost sight of the other airplane due to sun glare. While being turned away from the other airplane,
the Learjet banked 70 degrees right and pitched 50 degrees nose-down. The pilot recovered control and landed without further incident. The
right elevator was missing, and the left elevator was deformed; the preliminary report did not say how the damage was incurred.
Dec. 6, 2006
Deauville, France
Raytheon Premier
minor
none
destroyed
3 fatal
The airplane overran the runway while landing. The number of occupants was not reported.
Dec. 10, 2006
Hesperia, California, U.S.
Bell 412SP
After completing an emergency medical services flight, the helicopter struck a mountain while being flown back to its base in nighttime
visual meteorological conditions (VMC).
Dec. 10, 2006
Waco, Texas, U.S.
Cessna 310Q
destroyed
3 fatal
The airplane struck terrain during an ILS approach on a dark night. Visibility was 2 mi (3,200 m) in fog, and the ceiling was overcast at 200 ft.
Dec. 14, 2006
Port Heiden, Alaska, U.S.
Piper PA-32-301 Saratoga
destroyed
2 fatal
The single-engine airplane struck snow-covered terrain about 10 minutes after departing from Port Heiden for a commuter flight to King
Salmon, Alaska. Nighttime VMC prevailed, but intermittent snow squalls had been reported.
Dec. 14, 2006
Dagsboro, Delaware, U.S.
Bell 407
substantial
2 fatal
Dense fog was reported in the area when the helicopter struck terrain while departing on a charter flight.
Dec. 15, 2006
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Swearingen Metro III
substantial
2 NA
A wing struck the runway during takeoff, and the airplane veered off the pavement. Both occupants survived the accident.
Dec. 15, 2006
Cadiz, Spain
Piper PA-34-220T Seneca
destroyed
3 fatal, 1 serious
The airplane struck terrain after loss of control during approach to Jerez de la Frontera Airport.
Dec. 16, 2006
Mbeya, Tanzania
Cessna 310Q
destroyed
2 fatal, 4 serious
Nighttime VMC prevailed when the airplane crashed in a residential area while departing on a charter flight. No one on the ground was
injured.
Dec. 24, 2006
Pandang, Indonesia
Boeing 737-400
substantial
162 NA
The airplane overran the runway while landing at Pandang-Hasanudin Airport. All 162 occupants reportedly survived the accident.
Dec. 25, 2006
Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S.
Cessna 414
destroyed
3 fatal
Visibility was 1/2 mi (800 m) in fog and vertical visibility was 100 ft when the airplane struck terrain during approach.
Dec. 26, 2006
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Cessna 414
destroyed
2 fatal
The airplane was en route from Morgantown, West Virginia, to Teterboro, New Jersey, when the pilot reported airframe icing and diverted to
Johnstown. The airplane struck terrain on approach.
Dec. 28, 2006
Prague, Czech Republic
Airbus A321
none
168 none
The airplane was en route from Moscow to Geneva when a passenger began fighting with other passengers and demanded that the airplane
be flown to Cairo, Egypt. The passenger was subdued by other occupants and arrested after the flight was diverted to Prague.
Dec. 29, 2006
Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.
Beech 99
substantial
1 none
The right wing tip struck the ground after the pilot initiated a missed approach at Rapid City Regional Airport. The airplane then crashed
about 10 nm (19 km) south of the airport.
Dec. 30, 2006
Nairobi, Kenya
de Havilland DHC-5 Buffalo
destroyed
3 minor
The airplane struck a house and burned after one engine failed during departure for a cargo flight to Somalia. The cargo included 4,000 liters
(1,057 gallons) of jet fuel. No one on the ground was injured.
Dec. 30, 2006
Culiacan Rosales, Mexico
Rockwell CT-39A
destroyed
2 fatal
The airplane, a military version of the Sabreliner, was on a cargo flight when it stalled and struck houses during approach. No one on the
ground was injured.
NA = not available
This information, gathered from various government and media sources, is subject to change as the investigations of the accidents and
incidents are completed.
64 |
19th annual European Aviation Safety Seminar
EASS
Staying Safe
in Times of Change
Amsterdam, Netherlands
To receive agenda and registration information, contact Namratha Apparao,
tel: +1 703.739.6700, ext. 101; e-mail: [email protected].
To sponsor an event, or to exhibit at the seminar, contact Ann Hill, ext. 105; e-mail: [email protected].
© Copyright 2006 Getty Images Inc.
March 12–14, 2007

AeroSafety World, February 2007

Transcription

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